Links to the Past
by Jadda
Summary: FINISHED set in the future: AU : Something happens that makes Ash lose his memory...he doesn't remember ANYTHING, not even his own name. Somehow, he winds up on a beach and meets Misty AAMR AN: I know I screwed up the ages, you can stop telling me now .
1. ¤ Chapter 1: Unanswered Questions ¤

Hullo, people!! What's up?? This is my first Pokémon fic!! Yeah!! Ok, so keeping that in mind, _please_ go light on the flames...thank ya! And I hope u all enjoy it!!

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Ages:

Ash-- 21

Misty -- 20

"..." **Spoken Words**

__

italics **Thoughts**

~~~~~~ ** Scene changes / flashbacks / change in P.O.V**

(...) **Author's Notes**

****

Disclaimer: _None_ of the following characters used in this story belong to me, k? Only the plot is mine, the rest....belongs to good ol' Japan ^-^

**__**

Links to the Past

Chapter 1: Unanswered Questions

He noticed there was sand all around him as he came to.

__

Where am I? he thought, rising into a sitting position and scratching his head of messy, black hair.

He looked around him some more and noticed an immense body of water lay to his right.

__

How on earth did I end up on a beach? he asked himself, while continuing looking about him; the ocean was to his right and to his left, a little far off, was a small beach house. He squinted his black eyes a little to try and read the name on the door, but his vision was blurry and it stung to squint. He shrugged and looked ahead of him to see a couple of other beach homes as the ocean and sand extended on and on. He turned around and saw the same scenery, except there was a dock. He quickly rose when he spotted the dock and felt the urge to go and stand upon it, although, he wasn't quite sure what he thought was so "enchanting" about the dock. But, never the less, he walked over and stood at the very edge gazing out far over the ocean, that is, as far as his stinging eyes could manage to decipher. 

"Where am I?" he asked himself aloud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Misty sat on her window seat, with her Togapei, reading a book. Since she was alone inside, she felt no need to do anything extravagant with her firey-red hair, so she just left it down. She wore no make-up either, and why would she need to? She wasn't ugly, "_I don't need make-up to make me beautiful, my personality is enough_" was her 'famous quote'. She sighed as she turned her page. She got about half way through the first paragraph and quickly slammed her book shut.

"_Sigh_ I guess I'm just not in the mood for reading today." she said, to no one in particular.

She looked down at her Togapei with her gentle, aqua-colored eyes and smiled.

"I guess you got bored and decided to take a nap, huh?" she asked it, not expecting to have any sort of a response.

Misty smiled slightly and turned her head toward the window she sat at. Peeking through her white-lace curtains, she noticed a boy....no a man, who looked to be about 20 or 21, standing on the dock in front of her house. From behind, all she could make out was the age, but that was because he was tall, about 6 feet, maybe a little taller.

She closed her curtains and shot a quick glance at Togapei.

__

Good, it's still sleeping. she thought, sighing in relief as she gently picked it up and placed it on a pillow beside the window. Seeing that her little buddy was settled, she rose from her spot on the seat, threw on some sandals and quietly opened the front door to her beach 'cottage'.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The man continued looking out at the ocean, his mind racing with questions:

__

How did I get here?

Is there anyone I came here with that could help me?

When did I even get here?

What happened to make me come upon this beach?

Then another, and by far, more serious question arose in his mind:

__

Who am I? 

It had just occurred to him that he wasn't aware of his identity.

__

Man, whatever happened to me out there, made me all screwed up.....I don't even know my own name... he thought sadly.

Then an idea hit him; he **had** to have some kind of an ID. As he searched his wet pockets, he silently prayed there was something that would help.

Finally, he found something and pulled it out; just a pocketknife. He frowned and stuck it back into his pocket and continued his search.

After five to ten minuets of frantic searching, me managed to find his wallet.

__

YES! he cried in his head as he opened it.

There in the plastic covering was a driver's license. He looked hard at it, only able to focus on the picture.

__

Hmm...I guess this is me....I'm not half bad looking he thought smiling and nodding his head in satisfaction.

Even though his eyes stung, he squinted again and was able to make out one word: Ash.

"Ash...I guess that's my name." he said aloud to himself.

Just then, he heard a door close behind him. He slowly turned around, wallet in hand, and faced the house. He saw a redheaded young woman walking down her steps, looking at the sand. Ash turned around quickly to resume his 'ocean gazing' in hopes that the girl wouldn't notice him. But, unfortunately for his hopes, the girl _did_ notice him. She walked up behind him and stared for a moment, as if she was checking him out. Suddenly, she spoke.

"Um, excuse me, can I help you?"

The young man [Ash] turned around and faced her [Misty].

"Help me with what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Misty sighed.

"Well, you're on my property and I was wondering if you...needed something....maybe...yes...no..." Ash kept his eyebrow raised.

"Uh, well now that you've asked, I could use your help with something." he replied scratching his head.

"Oh, what?" she asked in response.

"Well, two things actually. First off, could you....read this? Please?" he asked handing her his wallet and pointing to the license.

Misty gave him an odd look, but agreed anyway.

"Um, ok, everything on here? Including the name?"

Ash nodded 'yes'.

"Ok....name: Ash Ketchum, date of birth: July 17th, 1986 (I made that up...I have NO CLUE what Ash's real b-day is), height: 6'3"." she looked up at him as she finished and started to hand his wallet back. 

"Wait. What about the address?" he asked, pushing it back in her direction.

__

He doesn't know his address?! or does he think I want it? Whatever...

"Oh...right, sorry. Address: 9034 South Sun Street. Pallet Town." (Again, that's fake too...except the Pallet Town part).

"Um, anything else?" deciding to not even bother asking why she needed to read him his driver's license.

Ash took his wallet and looked at Misty.

"Oh, yeah, one more thing: Where am I?"

She looked at him quizzically, but answered.

"You're on the Cerulean Beach in Cerulean City."

Ash looked away, as if he was deep in thought, and then glanced back at the confused young woman before him.

"Oh....thank you, Miss....I guess I should get off of your property now...Good-bye." he said, holding his head.

Misty reluctantly watched the tall, dark man leave; but he didn't get far. He took about three or four steps and then fell face first onto the hot, dry sand.

Misty let out a small cry as she ran over to him to see what had happened: he was unconscious.

__

Great, he passed out.... She thought, sarcastically as she struggled to lift him to his feet.

__

I guess he could lay on my couch until he comes to...maybe I can find out what the heck happened to the poor guy. she thought as she slowly limped her way to her house, up the steps and through the yellow door.

Misty continued her limping, with Ash on her back, and finally made it to the couch. She went to the end and slowly let him go so he'd fall gently onto the old, leather couch. (Dunno why that's important...I was just trying to be descriptive...lol)

Misty couldn't help herself; she looked at him. This was the first time she had actually gotten a really good look at him: his messy, black hair went right above his ears and a little over his closed black eyes. He was pretty well built; he looked as if he was an athletic guy. Then she noticed something. He had Pokéballs around his waist; she counted five of six.

__

So he's a Pokémon trainer... She thought, further examining him. 

She saw a little book-shaped thing sticking out of one of his jean pockets and slowly removed it.

"A Pokédex?! Wow...only Professor Oak gives these out..." She said aloud as she opened the cover. (I'm not sure that's right either, but work with me here!)

[Pokédex voice] "This Pokédex belongs to Ash Ketchum from the town of Pallet. This was given to Ash by Professor Oak."

"Well...I already knew that much" she said, responding to the rhetorical message of the machine.

Then, she gently laid the object on the couch next to the Pokémon Trainer.

"Maybe I should get him an ice pack..."

She walked away from her couch and over to the kitchen. She remove the ice pack from the freezer, placed it in a towel and walked back into her living room, where the unconscious man lay. Slowly and gently she placed the pack on his forehead; she noticed more about him this time: he had a few cuts and bruises on his handsome face; three cuts on his left cheek, on his nose, to on his dry, cracked lips and a huge gash on his forehead where the ice pack (think I've said that enough yet?) had been placed.

__

Wow...he got really beat up somehow....I wonder what happened... She thought, placing her soft hand on his 'iced' forehead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later...

Ash saw darkness all around him; it looked as if he were alone, but he didn't feel it. (that's foreshadowing and symbolic...remember that) He felt something soft beneath him and something cold upon his brow. (could it be the ice pack??)

Suddenly, his coal-black eyes snapped open to reveal faint light about him; he was inside someone's house.

__

How did I get in here? he asked himself, feeling his forehead and removing the (guess) ice pack. 

He got up into a sitting position on the couch and looked around him: there was a coffee table before him, a door ahead and a door to the left of that one on a corner. There was a window with a window seat to his right, with a sleeping Togapei, by the front door and another table beside the couch with a lamp on it and a chair beside it. To his far left were two more doors; one led to the kitchen and the other to who knows where.

Suddenly, someone emerged from the kitchen and noticed the young man sitting up on the couch, looking around confused.

__

Good he's awake

"Good morning, Ash..." she said lightly as she strolled further into the room.

Ash looked over at her and stared.

"How did I get inside your house, Miss?" he asked, trying not to seem too enticed by her deep, aqua eyes.

She laughed.

"I dragged you in...you fainted outside so, I brought you in...By the way, my name is Misty, so you don't have to keep calling me 'Miss'."

Ash continued staring and nodded an 'ok'.

"Are you alright? I mean, what happened to you anyway?" she asked him.

Ash drew his eyes away from hers and pointed them at the window.

"I don't know" he said simply.

Misty looked on, a little surprised.

"You don't know?" she asked knowingly as she sat down in a chair next to the couch.

Ash just shook his head 'no' in response, never taking his eyes from the window.

"So you don't even know how you got here or why you came to Cerulean?"

"No," he said, "I wish I knew...it would make this weird feeling I have clearer."

__

Weird feeling? she thought, following his gaze to the window next to her.

"I wish...I wish I could help you, Ash...but I'm not detective."

Ash finally moved his gaze from the window and placed it upon Misty who was still looking out the window.

__

There's that strange feeling again...Why am I only getting it when I look at her and the ocean? Are they connected to what happened somehow?

"Well, maybe you can help me, Misty. I don't think you need to be a detective to help people decipher their feelings and find out their past." he said, smiling at her for the first time.

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Yeah!! I finished chapter one!! What did you guys think?? HONESTLY! Please R + R!! or if you have any:

Questions, comments, suggestions or advice?

Email me: 

silverserenity2000@yahoo.com 

or 

silvr255@bellsouth.net (use this one if you want a fast response)

OBkb!! That's all for now folks! Thanks for reading!!

Storyline © :: Misty Showron ::


	2. ¤ Chapter 2: The Story Session ¤

Hola amigos! Sorry this took so long! I've been REALLY busy but now I'm on Easter Break so I can write more! YIPPIE!! Also, In the reviews so far, a lot of ppl were confused about some things; 

* 1st off, yes, I know that Ash is younger than Misty in the series, but this is an AU fic (I apologize for not putting that in the 1st chapter, gomen nasai!) So in my story, Misty is gonna be _younger_ than Ash. 

* Secondly, the thing w/ Togapei, yes she _did_ find it w/ Ash (actually Ash found it) but, to make everyone less confused and some happier, I'll explain that some time later, k?? 

Alrighty then! Moving on.

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Ages:

Ash-- 21

Misty -- 20

"..." **Spoken Words**

__

italics **Thoughts**

~~~~~~ **Scene changes / flashbacks / change in P.O.V**

(...) **Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: _None_ of the following characters used in this story belong to me, k? Only the plot is mine, the rest....belongs to good ol' Japan ^-^

**__**

Links to the Past

Last Chapter review:

"Well, maybe you can help me, Misty. I don't think you need to be a detective to help people decipher their feelings and find out their past." he said, smiling at her for the first time."

**__**

Chapter 2: The Story Session

Misty averted her gaze from the window and back to Ash who was now smiling broadly. She blushed at his dazzling smile and quickly attempted to hide it.

"Oh, you really think I can, Ash? How?" she asked, her blush now just a light pink tint.

Ash nodded 'yes' and proceeded to explain the 'how'.

"Well, you live here, correct?"

She looked at him with a 'duh' expression.

"Yes, _of course _I live here." she responded with a subtle laugh.

Ash smiled.

"Well then, you can start out by updating me on what's been going on in the world."

"What's been going on? Like what? Anything specific? I can't tell you _everything_, Ash!"

"Why not?" he asked, sarcastically.

Misty began to laugh but stopped herself abruptly; why did she get the feeling that some how she knew this guy? To her recollection, she'd never met or even seen him before today. Why was she getting the feeling that she already knew him?

"Misty? Are you alright?" he asked, somewhat worriedly.

Misty suddenly snapped out of her train of thought.

"Huh? Oh yea, Ash I'm perfectly fine...I was just...thinking about what's been going on so I can tell you! Yes, that's it...exactly it. He he he he he he."

Ash raised a dark eyebrow and looked at her quizzically.

"Ok, so what happened?"

Misty continued pondering and suddenly something popped into her mind; there was only _one_ major thing that had happened that week, well besides Pokémon battles and such.

"Well Ash," she began, "there was this one major thing that happened. I dunno if it has anything to do with you or your problem, but I'll tell you anyway. About a week or two ago there was a cruise ship leaving the harbor in, I think it was, Sunny Town. Anyway, the ship was to stop here momentarily and then continue on visiting other islands and cities. But on the way here, a huge storm began and the ship was struck by lightening. From what I've heard, the ship snapped completely into two pieces (kinda like the Titanic) and sunk. As far as survivors go, I don't think they've found any....no wait, there was this news cast a couple of nights ago that said that someone had been discovered. But, anyway, that's really all that I know about it."

Ash stared at her, dumb founded.

"Ash? Ash? Are you alright, Ash?" Misty said, waving a hand in front of his, now pale, face.

But Ash couldn't hear her. He was lost in some kind of a vision, which he believed to have been a memory. He saw about him a nicely furnished, small room with two twin beds and a bathroom by the door. Suddenly, he saw himself walking toward the bathroom, but before he could reach it, someone emerged, holding some kind of an egg-shaped object. With out looking at him, the figure headed for the door. Ash suddenly snapped out of his so-called "memory" to see Misty, very close, and looking worriedly into his black eyes. She had her hand on his forehead, like she was see if he had a fever or something.

Ash blushed at the physical contact and flinched slightly, making Misty remove her hand.

"What happened Ash? Why did you just black out like that?"

Ash placed his shaking hand upon his throbbing head.

"I--I dunno...I had some kind of a flash back...It was weird..."

Misty looked at him quizzically, but responded with a reassuring smile.

"A flash back, huh? Well, what happened in it?"

Ash pondered her question for a moment and then answered, telling her everything he had remembered from the brief two seconds.

Misty, now hearing the entire flash back, thought about what it's meaning could be.

__

I don't get it, Misty thought_ if he's getting flashbacks like that out of no where and for no reason, what could it possibly mean?_

Misty sighed and returned her attention back to Ash who was thinking as well.

"Misty?"

"Yes, Ash?"  
"Could you possibly try to find more about this shipwreck thing? I don't know why, but for some reason I seem compelled to know more..."

Misty half-smiled and continued looking at Ash's confused expression.

"I guess that I can try. That one person they found, maybe we can find out who it is and see if they know what happened."  
Ash raised an eyebrow at her suggestion.

"Yeah, great plan; there are only a few problems."  
"What?"

"Well, first off, how on earth are we gonna even find out who this person is? And if we somehow do, how will we find them? And even if we get through all that, who even knows if that person remembers anything!"

Misty slightly grimaced at him.

"We are going to find out who the person is by going to the police. They investigated this entire project, I'm sure they know something, and we're going to find the person by my knowledge. I know everyone here in Cerulean, Ash. I've lived here my entire life. And as for whether or not the person remembers, that one we'll have to leave for chance, but the rest should at least unlock a little of what's going on inside that screwed up head of yours."

"My head _is not_ screwed up...I'm just a little disoriented and confused, that's all...Don't you ever feel that way?! Gimme a break! I'm only human!"

Misty laughed a little at his defensive out burst.

"I know Ash, I know. And yes...I feel the way you're feeling practically all the time...Kind of like there's something I'm missing, ya know? Like everyone knows something that I don't but they won't tell me what it is...Like, I just...don't belong here, or that I'm supposed to be somewhere else...you know what I'm saying?"

Ash simply nodded 'yes' with out looking at her.

"Boy do I ever understand...That's how I've felt ever since I woke up on that shore yesterday."

Misty looked at him sympathetically, and quickly shook off her urge to give him a huge, comforting hug.

"Well, Ash, is there anything else you wanna know?" she said, changing the subject.

Ash looked up at her.

"Uh...yes. There is one thing...Where is Pallet Town? I'm from that place, right? So I figure that if we don't find any answers here, that you could either tell me where to go or take me to Pallet Town."  
Misty smiled.

"Pallet Town is actually not too far from here. It'll take more than a day but it's pretty close compared to other cities. I can take you there easily enough. But before we even think about leaving, we should try and find this person who we assume at least remembers a little of what happened. If they were in the hospital recovering, they should be out by now. I don't think the news said anything about them being unconscious. So what do you say, Ash?"

Ash continued to stare at her when he smiled.

"I'm in...I'll do anything to find out what happened to me..."

~~~~~End of Chapter 2~~~~~

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Ugh, ok so what did you think? Sorry if this chapter was confusing too...and sorry this took as long as it did ^^' thanks to all who reviewed the first time around! SO:

Questions? Comments? Suggestions or Advice?

Email me: silverserenity2000@yahoo.com 

OR 

silvr255@bellsouth.net (-- use this one if u want a quick response)

or you could just R + R!! Thanks! Ja Ne!!!


	3. ¤ Chapter 3: Answers? ¤

Hey all! Thanks for reading again! I really appreciate it. Sorry this chapter took so long. I'm out of school now, so over the summer the chapters will get out faster then they are now...and hopefully there'll be some new stories as well ^-~ 

OBkb, on with the show!

-:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:-

Ages:

Ash-- 21

Misty -- 20

"..." **Spoken Words**

__

italics **Thoughts**

~~~~~~ **Scene changes / flashbacks / change in P.O.V**

(...) **Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: _None_ of the following characters used in this story belong to me, k? Only the plot is mine, the rest....belongs to good ol' Japan ^-^

**__**

Links to the Past

Last Chapter review:

Ash continued to stare at her when he smiled.

"I'm in...I'll do anything to find out what happened to me..."

__

Chapter 3: _Answers?_

Misty looked at Ash and sighed.

__

Poor guy, she thought _he doesn't even know how he got here, that's gotta be rough._

"Well Ash," she started, breaking the silence between them, "I guess we should begin our search; do you think we're ready?"

Ash stood from his chair and looked out the window at the wide, open sea.

"I'm ready of you are." he said simply.

Misty smiled weakly and rose from her chair as well.

"All right then, let's go." she said, walking to her door, keys in hand.

Ash followed her to the door and out of it.

Once they had made it outside, Ash found it almost impossible to tear his gaze away from the frothy ocean's waves. Misty had to physically drag him to her car and place him in the passenger's seat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At the Police Station...

Misty quickly pulled up into the Station's parking lot and easily found an open spot.

"C'mon Ash, let's get some info." she said, smiling as she turned off her silver VW Jetta (sorry, I had to put that in here...I _LOVE_ Jettas ^-^) and opened the door.

Ash half-smiled and opened his door.

They quickly hurried into the station and began looking for a place to start interrogating.

"How about that guy, he looks like he'd give away valuable information." stated Misty as she pointed at a young, shy-looking man at a desk in the corner of the police station.

Ash simply nodded and followed Misty over to the young man.

"Hello, I was wondering if you could help me with something." Misty said, smiling brightly.

The shy, young man blushed wildly and nodded. 

"Ok, what can I help you with, Miss?" he responded quietly, not looking at her.

Misty smiled cleverly and proceeded her interrogation.

"Well, my friend here," she started pointing to Ash, who waved in response, "has a, uh, "family member" that was a victim of that terrible ship accident that took place a couple of weeks ago. You know the one I mean?"

The man nodded, again without looking at her.

"Good. Well, anyway, we need some information about that "only survivor" you all found...could you, possibly tell us an address, a name, maybe a phone number?"

The young man thought for a moment then looked around.

"I'm not really supposed to do that, Miss. It's against company policy."

Misty frowned slightly.

"Oh, well, you see, my friend _really_ needs the information because his "family member" might be the person that you found. So just the name would be fine...It's enough information to know whether or not the person is related to him."

The man reluctantly looked around again and took out a small piece of paper. He scribbled something down quickly and handed it to Misty. 

"Please don't tell _anyone_ where you got this information from. If you do, I could be fired." he whispered to Misty nervously.

Misty smiled brightly and took the paper from him.

"Thank you so much --" she paused shortly to look at the man's name tag. "Bob. We _really_ appreciate it."

Misty smiled again and grabbed Ash by the hand.

"That was easy enough," he said, as he staggered under her grip.

"Yeah, I know. I'm good at getting info outta people." she said, smiling and winking at him.

Ash blushed as he continued being pulled out of the station by Misty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Misty, we've been driving around for hours; I thought you said this was going to be easy!" Ash cried, exasperatedly.

Misty sighed as she continued to drive.

"First of all, Ash, it's only been ONE hour and secondly, I've never heard of this person before, they must've just moved here."  
Ash sighed once again and looked out the window.

"I thought you said you knew everyone here."

"I do! Just not the people the _just_ moved here. How was I supposed to know that this was going to happen?! I'm not psychic, Ash! And I don't even have to be helping you! I'm doing it out of the goodness of my heart, and this is the thanks I get! I know that you want more information, but I'm doing the best that I can, isn't that enough?"

Ash pulled his gaze from the window and looked over at the frustrated Misty. His frown deepened as a wave of guilt swept over him.

"You're right...I'm sorry...You don't have to be helping me, I realize that...I'm really sorry...Thank you Misty, I really appreciate all that you're doing for me...without your help, I'd probably still be laying on the beach getting eaten alive by seagulls."

Misty calmed down a bit an listened to his apology; he was being sincere. She smiled at his last comment and pulled over her car.

"No, _Thank you_, Ash..."

Ash looked at her surprised.

"For what? I didn't do anything for you."

Misty smiled at him.

"Yes you did. You helped me more than you'll ever understand or know...and for that, I'm thankful. Whoever your mother is did a good job at raising you. You're a very considerate guy."

Ash looked away from her and blushed immensely.

"Thanks a lot Misty...I really appreciate hearing that from you..."

There was an awkward silence that followed their conversation. Both Ash and Misty sat nervously, wishing the other would say something. Suddenly, Misty's cell phone rang.

"Huh? Oh, that's me, hold on, Ok, Ash?" she said, searching for the little black phone.

Ash simply nodded and turned his attention back to the window.

"Hello? This is Misty speaking." she said, finally finding the so-called "missing phone".

"Hello Misty, I'm Carl Mack, I'm responding to the call you made to the "Missing Persons Bureau" a few months ago, sorry it's taken us this long to get back in touch with you."

Misty's eyes grew wide as she listened to the man speak. She was feeling a panic attack coming on.

__

Oh no...I totally forgot I called them...I-I can't talk to them *now*! Not with Ash here in the car sitting *right* next to me. She thought, frantically trying to think up a good excuse to get them off the phone.

"Um, Mr. Mack? I'm not going to be able to hold up this conversation at the moment. Could you do me a favor and call my home, please? You could leave a message and I'll get back to you sometime later. I'd talk more now but I'm in the middle of something extremely important and I'm not near my house. Would this be too much trouble?" she stated, nervously shaking, unbeknownst to Ash.

Mr. Mack's end of the line was currently silent as he thought about Misty's suggestion.

"Well, Miss. Waterflower, you've been waiting for this information a while, are you positive you don't want it now? It would only take a few minuets to give you all of it."

Misty was getting more and more nervous by the second. Luckily, though, Ash wasn't paying too much attention to her at the moment.

"No, please Mr. Mack, I'd really be extremely appreciative of you and your bureau if you'd just call my house and leave a message. I've waited this long for your call, I'm sure I can wait a few more hours. But please, I'm really in a, um, hurry."

Mr. Mack's line went momentarily silent again.

"Very well, Miss. Waterflower. We hope to hear from you soon...This is some pretty revealing information. It should help you immensely in your investigations. I hope to hear from you soon."

Misty breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"T-Thank you _very_ much Mr. Mack. I'll be getting back to you soon. Good-bye." she concluded, pressing the "end" key on her cell.

Misty warily returned her attention back to Ash, who apparently was daydreaming about something at that moment.

"Ash? Ash? Are you all right?" she said worriedly, waving a hand in front of his glazed brown eyes.

"Huh?" responded Ash, returning to the world of the living.

"Are you all right? You looked kinda, spacey there a second ago. Do you want to go back to my cottage and lay down or something?" she offered, reaching for her keys in the ignition.

"As temping as that is, I'm gonna have to say 'no'. I'd much rather be looking for this person...By the way what was their name again?"

Misty reached into her jean pocket and removed the small piece of paper with the name on it.

"The name is 'Gary Oak'." 

__

Why does that name sound so familiar to me? I don't think I've ever even met anyone named 'Gary' let alone a 'Gary Oak'...thought Misty, as she senselessly stared at the name and it's letters.

Ash, meanwhile, was in the middle of another "flash back":

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** He was in the same room that was in the first vision, only the girl wasn't there this time, it was someone else...A young man who looked to be around Ash's age was sitting across from him in a light brown arm chair. Ash noticed the two men (him and the other guy) were laughing about something. The man across from him had dark, brown hair that was a pretty good length for a guy. It stood up on his head a few inches and then sort of 'shot' out to the left a little. His eyes looked to be a sort of brown, but they were closed so he wasn't sure. **

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suddenly, the flash back ended and Ash was left with a look of entrancement from the waving of Misty's hand going up and down. He could faintly hear a feminine voice calling his name from the left but couldn't comprehend who it was coming from.

"ASH!? What the heck is wrong with you? Stop ignoring me and come back to reality!!" Misty was getting agile and frustrated now and was pushing Ash up against the car's door, hitting him on the shoulder and shaking him furiously.

"OUCH!!! Why in God's name are you hitting me?!" cried Ash, as he returned to reality once again.

Misty halted her hitting brigade and looked at him worriedly. 

"Ash, what happened? Did you have another one of those 'flash back' thingies?" she asked in a childish tone that Ash couldn't help but smile at.

"Yeah I think so, but this time...there was no girl...there was only this guy and I was sitting in this room with him talking about something. Then we started laughing...and that was it..."

Misty was silent momentarily.

"Ash, I think you need some rest...C'mon, I'll take you back to the cottage, this search can wait, all right?"

Ash sighed heavily, signaling he was surrendering and agreeing to return to the cottage for a short nap and hopefully a meal.

__

I wonder what these flash backs are trying to tell me...thought Ash as he and Misty sped their way back to the beach cottage.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

Ok, so I'm guessing a lot of you are confused now? Don't worry, everything will be clarified in later chapters! Please R + R!!

Questions? Comments, Advice or Suggestions?

Email me: silverserenity2000@yahoo.com

:: OR ::

silvr255@bellsouth.net (-- use this one if you want a faster response)


	4. ¤ Chapter 4: A Much Needed Break ¤

Hey guys! Well, so much for writing faster over the summer, huh? sorry this is so late. Ya know, school still finds a way to annoy you even when you're out of it for 3 months. I have to read 4 FREAKIN' novels this summer and then take a test the week I come back to school...yippee...well, hopefully I'll be able to finish at least ONE of my stories this summer so I can begin my next one...it about STAR WARS...hehehehe....OBkb, on with the story.

-:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:-

Ages:

Ash-- 21

Misty -- 20

"..." **Spoken Words**

__

italics **Thoughts**

~~~~~~ **Scene changes / flashbacks / change in P.O.V**

(...) **Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: _None_ of the following characters used in this story belong to me, k? Only the plot is mine, the rest....belongs to good ol' Japan ^-^

**__**

Links to the Past

Last Chapter review:

Misty was silent momentarily.

"Ash, I think you need some rest...C'mon, I'll take you back to the cottage, this search can wait, all right?"

Ash sighed heavily, signaling he was surrendering and agreeing to return to the cottage for a short nap and hopefully a meal.

__

I wonder what these flash backs are trying to tell me...thought Ash as he and Misty sped their way back to the beach cottage.

Chapter 4: _A Much Needed Break..._

Ash jolted up from the couch when he heard it. He frantically looked around in search of it's source, but he couldn't seem to locate it. He quickly rose from the couch onto wobbly legs and dizzily padded across the room, still hearing it.

__

Where is that screaming coming from? he thought to himself, _It sounds like someone's in trouble._

Ash continued his dizzy search as he propped himself up against a wall and held his throbbing head. Then, all went black...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was in freezing cold water that was up to his chin. What was he doing in water? The screaming he had been hearing continued when he spotted it's source: a young woman, with short, red hair was bobbing up and down with her arms stretched up above her head; she was screaming like there was no tomorrow.

The image became closer as Ash realized he must have been swimming. Who was this girl? He had to know, it was driving him nuts now. Soon he was right behind the young woman and was holding her up by her waist. She was in the process of turning around, when he snapped out of the vision and realized he was now on the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"OW!" he voiced loudly, rubbing his still throbbing head.

He rose into a sitting position and draped his arms over his knees.

__

Man, I wish these stupid flashbacks were longer...

Just then he noticed that a note was sitting on the table by the couch where he had been only moments ago; it had his name on the front of it. Ash stood up and curiously picked up the letter:

__

Ash,

I went out for a couple of hours but I'll be right back, most likely around 5PM.

If you get hungry or anything, there is food in the fridge.

Take care of yourself while I'm gone, OK? I don't wanna come home and 

find you unconscious on the floor, passed out from hunger!

I'll be back as soon as possible.

Take care!

~ Misty

Ash smiled as he finished the letter.

__

Well, that explains why she didn't come frantically running in here when I blacked out.

He glanced over at the clock.

__

3:30...Misty'll be home in an hour and a half. 

Then he smiled wickedly to himself as he threw the letter down and ran into the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Misty sat in an over-priced, and extremely chilly, office waiting in front of a large, cherry wooded desk.  
_Why did I come here? _ she asked herself, _I knew filing this report would be embarrassing, but I suppose it's the only way to know._

She shifted in her chair and looked nervously around the room, when a tall, blonde man entered through the office's entrance, carrying papers and folders.

"I'm glad you could make it this time, Miss. Waterflower. Are you ready to see your requested information?" asked the man, as he seated himself behind the darkly dyed desk.

Misty smiled nervously and uneasily nodded her head.

"Yes, I am, Mr. Mack. Thank you."

Mack smiled and handed her a folder.

Misty took it warily and placed it upon her lap as she uncrossed her legs.

__

Wow, is this all of it? she thought, looking at the bulky size of the folder.

Slowly she opened it and looked at the contents of the top page.

After a few minuets, Mr. Mack eyed her and noticed her uneasiness.

"Is that the information you wanted, Miss. Waterflower?"

Misty raised her cerulean-colored eyes and met Mack's large brown ones.

"Yes. This is it. By the way, thank you for not laughing at me when I requested this information, but it is important that I know about this."

Mr. Mack smiled.

"Of course, Misty. I understand your problem and the need for this information completely. But don't expect special treatment every time, Ok?"

Misty smiled weakly and re-closed the folder.

Mr. Mack stood and Misty rose from her chair then as well.

"Thank you again, Mr. Mack. I really appreciate you doing this for me. I know it's not every day that you get these types of cases."

Mack continued smiling.

"Of course, Miss. Waterflower. Have a nice day, now." he said, sitting back down in his chair.

Misty merely nodded and left the office.

__

I hope this information clarifies what's been going on lately. I don't think I can take much more of this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ash had been scrambling around the kitchen for an hour, pulling this and that from everywhere and mixing it together.

__

Misty'll be home any minuet now; I need to get this done, quick! he thought, wiping his sweaty brow.

He quickly sat the small kitchen table with all the necessities and ran back to the kitchen cabinets for the plates.

Just as he pulled the food from the oven, Ash heard the front door open and close.

__

Misty's home! he thought, scrambling around the kitchen faster, if that was possible.

"Ash?" Misty called into her empty den, "Ash, where are you?"

Suddenly, Misty smelled something cooking in the kitchen (and smelling wonderful) as she made her way across the room, setting her keys, purse and folder on the table outside of her room.

Slowly she pushed open the kitchen door, only to reveal Ash sitting on the counter, his chest heaving. Misty smiled as an amused look played across her face.

"Ash, what's wrong? Did it really take all that effort to jump up onto that counter?" she asked sarcastically, as she leaned up against the door frame.

Ash looked up at her and smiled as he jumped off of the countertop.

"Yeah, ya know, that thing is a lot higher than it looks." he said, his smile broadening.

Misty laughed as she entered the room further.

"So what _are_ you doing in here? And what is that delicious smell?"

Ash smiled wider yet again as he took her arm and guided her over to the kitchen table.

"I hope you're hungry...and that you like chicken because that thing took me forever to cook."

Misty smiled and bit her lip as she took her seat.

Ash took his cue and took his seat across the table from her.

"Ash, you didn't have to do all of this. You know that, don't you?" she asked seriously.

Ash leaned in a little closer toward the center of the table.

"I know I didn't _have_ to, but I wanted to thank you for all this stuff you're doing for me. You don't have to do any of the things you're doing either, but, never the less, you are." he said, smiling at her again.

Misty felt her knees go weak as she blushed and smiled back at Ash.

"Well Ash, thank you. Thank you very much. This is nice...no one has ever made me dinner before...well, no one, that is, except my mother." she concluded smiling nervously at him.

"Well then," said Ash, "let's eat."

Misty nodded.

Soon Ash and Misty were talking, laughing, eating, drinking (water) and being merry.

__

Why does this just feel so....right? they both thought simultaneously as their perfect moment lasted into the moon illuminated night.

~~~~~End of Chapter 4~~~~~

To be continued...

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

Well, that's chapter 4...a little short, I know...gimme time, I'll be up with the next chapter soon, OBkb?

so:

Questions? Comments? Advice or Suggestions?

Email me:

silverserenity2000@yahoo.com

::: OR :::

silvr255@bellsouth.net

Storyline © :: Misty the Jedi Princess ::


	5. ¤ Chapter 5: Misty's Got a Secret ¤

Hey! Welcome to chapter 5!! Glad to see ya back!

I just finished my story "No Strings Attached" (Card Captor Sakura), so now I'll be able to start the Star Wars story I've been talking about!

YEAH!!!

-:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:-

Ages:

Ash-- 21

Misty -- 20

"..." **Spoken Words**

__

italics **Thoughts**

~~~~~~ **Scene changes / flashbacks / change in P.O.V**

(...) **Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: _None_ of the following characters used in this story belong to me, k? Only the plot is mine, the rest....belongs to good ol' Japan ^-^

**__**

Links to the Past

Last Chapter review:

"Well then," said Ash, "let's eat."

Misty nodded.

Soon Ash and Misty were talking, laughing, eating, drinking (water) and being merry.

__

Why does this just feel so....right? they both thought simultaneously as their perfect moment lasted into the moon illuminated night.

Chapter 5: _Misty's got a secret..._

Misty awoke early the next morning. She hadn't planned on getting up then, but she found she was unable to fall back asleep. Something was disturbing her mind.

__

What's wrong with me? she asked herself inwardly.

She had been feeling uneasiness and fear for a long while, but now it was starting to come and go sporadically. She lay there one her bed trying to make sense of all that was going on in her life; and then there was Ash's sudden appearance. She didn't quite know why, but she had a distinct feeling that she'd known him for years. She figured maybe it was because he was so mysterious and knew as much about her life as she did about her own. Or maybe it was because they had just "clicked" instantly...or maybe it was because she _had_ met him before...

__

Nah, she thought, _that's ridiculous. I know I'd remember someone like him. He's got one of those unforgettable personalities..._

Misty stayed in bed for another five minuets thinking and then rose, quickly jumping into her small bathroom. She found her little, Cerulean Blue bathrobe and secured it tightly around herself before exiting her bedroom and shuffling into her dark kitchen.

When she entered, memories of the night before flooded into her head. She stood in the doorway of the room and looked around absentmindedly, trying to remember every little detail from her dinner with Ash Ketchum: the mysterious man she found on the beach.

She smiled and shook herself awake. She then began her usual morning routine of making coffee, her breakfast and racing over to the front door to retrieve her morning paper; the headline on this morning's front page caught her attention:

"SHIP WRECK MYSTERY DEEPENS

She scanned the page slowly, allowing her eyes to look sorrowfully at the pictures of the boat snapped in half on the bottom of the ocean.

She sighed deeply and turned her attention to Ash's sleeping form on the couch. She smiled at his content face and messed up hair. The thought of waking him up crossed her mind briefly as she looked at him. She quickly glanced at the clock: 6AM.

__

Hmm...Still a little early I suppose. she thought, waving off her former idea.

Then she remembered the folder she had brought home from her meeting yesterday afternoon. She hadn't looked through any of it yet. She sighed again and began searching earnestly for the folder. Spotting it on the small table by her bedroom door, she quickly scurried to it and picked it up. She stared at it reluctantly for a moment then returned to the kitchen.

She set her newspaper down on the counter and grabbed a cup of coffee before making her way to the kitchen table to look through the folder.

She sat down slowly, not wanting to spill the hot liquid in the mug, and stared at the folder again.

"Well, it's now or never, Misty." she told herself aloud.

She slowly reached got the opening of the manila folder and pulled it up. She had already read the top page yesterday: nothing she didn't already know.

She continued leafing through the folder until she can upon an interesting looking report. She picked it up and began to read parts of it:

"...date of accident: April 28, 2006

number of known survivors: 1

date survivor was discovered: May 5th

Victim's gender: Female

Age: late teens, early twenties

Name of victim: Misty Waterflower"

Misty gulped.

That's why she felt such a strong connection with Ash. She had been on the ship with him! She read the report further:

"...currently, the survivor does not remember any incident surrounding the case. We have decided that placing her in a rehabilitation center would be best for her at this point. As of now, the victim will not be informed of her involvement in the crash...

- December, 2006"

"They hid it from me..." she stated slowly.  
"But...I-I don't understand this. How come I don't have the slightest memory of being on that ship?"

She threw down the paper and stuck her head in her hands.

"What am I gonna do? I'm supposed to be helping _Ash_ solve this thing so _he_ can find out what's happened to him, not vice versa.:

She sighed heavily, bringing her arms and head down to rest upon the table.

"This is a nightmare."

Then she cried. She couldn't think of anything else to do at that moment and reading further into the folder would only tell her what else they had hidden from her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Few Hours Later

Ash slowly awoke and stared at the ceiling. He moaned softly and rolled off of the couch lazily.

"I wonder what's for breakfast..." he said aloud, sleepily making his way to the kitchen. He pushed the door open and found Misty staring out of the window next to the table. She was holding a mug of, now cold, coffee and looked tired and frazzled.

As, his eyes filled with concern, made his way to the table and sat down across from Misty; she still had yet to acknowledge his presence.

"Hey Misty, are you alright?" he asked, waving a hand in front of her dazed face.

"Huh?" she said, snapping out of her trance.

Ash smiled weakly.

"I asked if you were ok..." he restated.

"Oh, yes Ash. I'm fine, just a little tired...did you sleep well?" she responded, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I slept fine." he replied skeptically, "What time did you fall asleep last night, Mist?"

Misty thought for a moment.

"I dunno, like 11:30PM...why?" she asked, raising her mug to her lips and taking a quick chug of her cold coffee; she then quickly spit it out.

Ash raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, just wondering...you just look a little tired, that's all. Maybe you should go back to bed...or you could try drinking some _hot_ coffee."

Misty laughed softly at his last remark.

"I think I'll take the coffee." she replied, rising to get another mug full when Ash stopped her.

"No, no, no. You sit, I'll get it."

He quickly rose before any objections were made and grabbed her mug from her frail hands.

Misty watched him curiously as he poured the old, icy coffee into the sink and poured a new, steaming hot cup. He rummaged through a cabinet and pulled out two packets of sugar. Then he went to the refrigerator and pulled out the milk. He poured both substances into the coffee and stirred it with a spoon by the sink. Then, after placing the milk back into the fridge, he carried it over to Misty who was now staring at him wide-eyed.

He looked up from the cup and saw her expression.

"What?" he asked, placing the coffee on the table in front of Misty.

"Thanks...but, how, how did you know I drink my coffee this way?" she asked him, pointing to the mug before her.

Ash looked around the room and then back at her.

"Just a lucky guess, I suppose." he replied smiling, "So, what's for breakfast?"

Misty sweat-drops. (-_-')

~~~~~End of Chapter 5~~~~~

To Be Continued...

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

So, I've confused you beyond belief now, haven't I? Sorry about that...well, that was chapter 5.

hope ya'll liked it!! oh and YES this story IS set in the future, hence the year 2006.

OK so,

Questions? Comments? Suggestions or Advice?

Email me:

silvr255@bellsouth.net (-- this one for a faster response)

:: OR ::

silverserenity2000@yahoo.com

hope you guys enjoyed it!! See ya in chapter 6!

BYEbye!

Storyline © -:+:- Misty the Jedi Princess -:+:-


	6. ¤ Chapter 6: Sharing the Secret ¤

Hey all! I'm back finally!! YEAH! I've had a really hard time in a few classes lately which is why it look so long for this to get posted; the first quarter of school was not a good one for Spanish III or Physics, people! Luckily though, the first quarter is over and my Physics teacher promised not to fail me (yeah!). So now, on with the story, thanks for being patient with me, btw.

-:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:-

Ages:

Ash-- 21

Misty -- 20

"..." **Spoken Words**

__

italics **Thoughts**

~~~~~~ **Scene changes / flashbacks / change in P.O.V**

(...) **Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: _None_ of the following characters used in this story belong to me, k? Only the plot is mine, the rest....belongs to good ol' Japan ^-^

**__**

Links to the Past

Last Chapter review:

"What?" he asked, placing the coffee on the table in front of Misty.

"Thanks...but, how, how did you know I drink my coffee this way?" she asked him, pointing to the mug before her.

Ash looked around the room and then back at her.

"Just a lucky guess, I suppose." he replied smiling, "So, what's for breakfast?"

Misty sweat-drops. (-_-')

Chapter 6: _Sharing the Secret_

Misty had been debating with herself all day whether or not she should tell Ash what she'd found out.

__

But he'd wanna know all the details...and I haven't read far enough into the folder to know them... said one voice.

__

But you could always tell him and then look through the folder with him. stated another voice inside her head.

__

But see, that's assuming he takes it how you want him to, the first voice lectured, _you don't know how he'll react. He could freak out totally, just run off somewhere and then you'd never see him again._

Misty sighed at her continuing internal consideration. Ash looked over at her and raised an eyebrow as he watched her stare out at the ocean absent-mindedly.

"Misty, are you sure you're ok? I don't think that coffee earlier helped too much." he said.

Misty smiled weakly at his statement.

__

Coffee doesn't work on consciences, bonehead!

"No, Ash, I'm really ok. Don't worry about it anyway, it's not important." she replied staring at him sympathetically.

Ash raised both eyebrows this time.

"Why are you looking at me like that? And what do you mean 'it's not important'? If something's bothering you, Mist, then you can tell me. Maybe I can help." he stated sternly and confidently.

Misty continued to stare at him a moment longer and then returned her gaze to the ocean.

__

He can help, ya know. You both have pretty much the same problem and if you are supposed to know him, it'd be good to let him in on your discovery. the second voice informed her.

__

Just remember the consequences... the first voice chided.

Misty returned her attention back to Ash, who was looking utterly confused and bewildered.

"Ok Ash, I'll tell you...but you gotta promise you won't freak out, ok?" she said, ringing her hands in her lap.

Ash blinked quickly a few times, then nodded.

"Ok...I promise...what is it?" he asked unsurely.

Misty gulped and stood up from her position on the front steps of the porch.

"Follow me." she said simply.

Ash nodded again and rose to meet her. Misty opened the door slowly and made her way across her living room; she grabbed her folder on the way (which was back in it's original spot on the mini table). She led the way into the kitchen and sat; Ash did the same.

Misty bit her lip nervously and placed the folder on the table in front of her. She opened it slowly, leafed through the pages until she came to the one she had read earlier. She held it up to look at it, then looked at Ash.

"This may make a few of you flashbacks clearer..." she said, placing the paper in front of him and pointing to the part to read. 

Ash looked at her and then the paper. He began to read.

Misty bit her lip as she waited for his reaction when he came to her name...

There it was. The reaction she was waiting for: a look of shock mixed with perplexity and bewilderment.

Ash looked up at her.  
"You...you were on that ship with me?"

Misty gulped and nodded.

"But does that mean you were with me? Or just on it?"

Misty shrugged.

"I dunno. I didn't read far enough into it yet." she said folding her hands and placing them in her lap.

"Well, how far did you read?" he asked, scanning the page once then looking back at her.

She pulled the paper down to the table and pointed to the last paragraph she'd read.

"Wow...you didn't read much..."

Misty shook her head and let go of the paper.

Ash continued scanning the page and stopped suddenly; he looked up at her frantically.

"Misty this states all the people they uncovered from the ship wreck...look, here's the guy we were looking for the other day." he said, pointing to a name and moving it where she could see it.

Misty looked at the name Ash was pointing at:

"Gary Oak...What's the information they have on him?" she asked, unconsciously wetting her dry lips.

Ash scanned the page once more, then pointed to something on it.

"Here's what it says:

' ...date survivor was discovered: Feb 17th ('07)

victim's gender: male

age: late teens, early twenties

name: Gary Oak. ' "

Ash finished and looked up at her.

"So, that's it?" she asked moving the paper into her line of vision again, "There's not an address or anything? No other background information?"

Ash got up and moved over to the chair next to Misty to get a better look at the paper.

"Doesn't look like it. But we've got tons of papers to go through, maybe there 's something in the rest of the folder." said Ash looking everywhere on the paper Misty held.

"Well then, let's start looking." she stated looking over at him and sliding him a large pile of unread papers, "You start with this half, I'll take the rest. If you read anything interesting, whether it has to do with this Oak guy or not, read it aloud, ok?"

Ash nodded and began reading his top paper, then he stopped suddenly.

"Misty?"

"Yea, Ash? Got something already?" she asked, quickly looking over at him.

Ash smiled lightly.

"No, but I'm, missing the first page of this report, do you have it?"

Misty laughed slightly and shook her head.

"Oh...I'll look for it, just read page two 'til I find it."

"Sure."

Eventually, Misty found Ash's missing report page and was hard at work reading through her pile. All was silent for quite sometime, except for the occasional sigh of frustration or a cough.

"Hey, here's something," said Ash one hour in.

Misty looked over at him and placed her chin in her propped-up hand.

"Hmm?" she asked quietly.

"It's about Gary Oak: ' The most recently found survivor, who has been identified as Gary Oak, has been taken to a hospital in Cerulean City and will be released in as little as a month.' "

"But we already knew that."

"I know, there's more; this is the hospital analysis: ' hair color: dark brown; eye color: brown; skin color: olive; nationality: Japanese; height: 6'5".' "

Misty's face brightened a little.

"Great, so we have a description now! What else does it say?"

"Lemme see..." Ash said, pausing conversation to search. 

"Ah, here we go: ' victim was released from hospital on March 1st ' "

"Ash, that was two weeks ago!" Misty interrupted excitedly.

Ash nodded and returned to the report.

" ' He has been told by Doctor Mejia to return home (in Pallet Town)'-- Wait, he lives in my town?! So then I must know this guy!"

"Keep reading, Ash."

"Oops, sorry, Misty. ' -- and stay at his home for at least two weeks.' "

"From what I've heard, Ash, Pallet's really close to Cerulean and it's a really small town, so it should be easy to find him. Plus while we're there, we can check up on some of the people you're supposed to know. Maybe they can help."

Ash sighed loudly and leaned back into his chair.

"So, I'm going home?"

Misty looked at him and smiled weakly.

"Yea, Ash, you're going home."

Ash ran his left hand through his dark hair and looked at Misty.

"But, what about you? I can't leave it up to you to figure this whole thing out by yourself...you need help."

"Ash, it's not like the folder's not portable. I can bring it with me."

Ash smiled.

"I know that, it's just, what if we've got more to do here? I don't wanna be tempted to stay in Pallet after we find Gary if the case isn't solved."

"Why not Ash? It's your home. It's where your family is, all your friends and probably your Pokémon too. (BTW, those Pokéballs on his belt in ch.1 were empty) Don't you want to see them all again?"

"I do, but, like I said, I don't want you to have to solve this alone."

"Don't worry about that, Ash. Just stick to the here and now. The problem at hand is finding Gary and getting him to believe our story. Just focus on that for now, ok?"

Ash nodded.

"Ok, you're right..."

Misty smiled widely.

"I know I am!"

Ash laughed and folded his arms over his chest.

"So, we're goin' to Pallet Town, then? No questions asked?" asked Misty, eyeing him and smiling.

Ash's smile widened.

"Yeah, we're goin'...So you better get all your girly things together; this is a trip!"

Misty laughed loudly at him and rose from the table.

"What about your clothes? What are you planning to bring?" asked Misty, closing the folder again.

Ash looked down at his black shirt and jeans, then back at Misty.

"What's wrong with this?"

Misty grimaced.

"Ash, if you are gonna wear that, at least wash the friggen thing!"

Ash chuckled and rose from the table.

"Fine, I will wash it...how do you wash clothes, anyway?" he asked scratching his head.

Misty smiled.

"Never mind, _I'll_ wash your clothes while _you_ take a shower, got it?"

"Got it! I'll leave 'em outside the door for ya."

"Ok, hurry up then."

Ash turned and ran for the door in between the kitchen and Misty's room, but stopped abruptly and turned.

"By the way, Misty thanks." he said with a thoughtful smile.

"For what Ash?"

His smile widened.

"For being you...and for trusting me."

With that, he turned quickly again and jumped into the bathroom.

Misty smiled and shook her head at him before going into her bedroom to retrieve her unwashed clothes.

__

You're welcome, Ash...

TBC

~~~~~End of Chapter 6~~~~~

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YES! End of chapter 6!

Now I can post this thing and take my stupid contacts out; they're KILLING me! *lol*

oh, btw, Pikachu is gonna be in the next chapter! so you can stop mentioning that he's not in here yet b/c he WILL BE!!!!!!

Loved it? Hated it? Tell me, please!

silverserenity2000@yahoo.com

* OR *  
silvr255@bellsouth.net (-- faster response)

Storyline © -:+:- Misty the Jedi Princess -:+:-


	7. PLEASE READ

Hey all! There's gonna be a small delay on this fic due to the fact that I have exams Dec. 16th to the 20th. Therefore, I must study!! please don't expect any new chapters till after the 20th. thanks, and sorry for the delay!!

~ Angel: da Newsies fan


	8. ¤ Chapter 7: The Road to Self Discovery ...

Hey!! I'm back with chapter 7! thanks for waiting, guys! I really appreciate it!! and thanks to all who reviewed: Dragoness, tmp, this person (ssjgohanltp@hotmail.com), aya-yahiko, KawaiiKaren, and TheAnonymousReviewer.

-:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:--:+:-

Ages:

Ash-- 21

Misty -- 20

"..." **Spoken Words**

__

italics **Thoughts**

~~~~~~ **Scene changes / flashbacks / change in P.O.V**

(...) **Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: _None_ of the following characters used in this story belong to me, k? Only the plot is mine, the rest....belongs to good ol' Japan ^-^

**__**

Links to the Past

Last Chapter review:

"By the way, Misty thanks." he said with a thoughtful smile.

"For what Ash?"

His smile widened.

"For being you...and for trusting me."

With that, he turned quickly again and jumped into the bathroom.

Misty smiled and shook her head at him before going into her bedroom to retrieve her unwashed clothes.

__

You're welcome, Ash...

Chapter 7: _The Road to Self-Discovery_

They spent a little over an hour packing and were ready to head off by 12:30pm. Ash (who had a very small suitcase) carried their baggage to Misty's Jetta (^^'), popped the truck and dropped them inside. He shut the trunk and Misty unlocked the doors.

"You've got the folder, right Mist?" asked Ash, opening the passenger side door.

Misty gave him a petulant look and raised an eyebrow.

"No, Ash. I threw it away earlier, didn't I tell you?" she responded sarcastically.

Ash shook his head.

"All right, all right, no need to be so touchy. Let's go then."

Misty nodded and opened the driver side door. She jumped in, closed the door behind her and inserted the key into the ignition.

"Let's get ready to rumble." she said starting up the car and backing out of her small, rocky drive way.

Ash was sitting, happily looking out the window when a thought came to him.

"Hey, Misty?" he said.

"Hmm?" she responded, still watching the road.

"What ever happened to that thing that was sleeping in your house when I met you?"

Misty gave him a 'huh?' look, then thought. He face immediately brightened.

"Oh! You mean Togepi. It's staying with my neighbor. I brought it over to her while you were taking a shower."

Ash nodded his head in recognition and resumed his window gazing. 

Misty looked over at him and smiled before returning her eyes to the road.

"How long will it take to get there?" Ash asked suddenly.

Misty thought for a minute while biting her lip.

"Hmm...maybe three or four hours. Why, are you bored all ready? We've only been driving for fifteen minutes and I'm not even to the bridge yet."

Ash shook his head and continued looking out the window.

"Just wondering, that's all."

Misty shot him a calculating look.

"Why are you so soft-spoken all of the sudden, Ash?"

Ash looked over at Misty, who was staring back and forth between Ash and the road.

Ash sighed and shrugged.

"I dunno...didn't realize I was being that way. Would you rather me be loud and obnoxious?" he asked, smiling at her.

Misty shook her head and laughed while returning her gaze to the street before her.

"I want you to be who you are. Nothing more, nothing less."

Ash's smile faded when she said that. He sighed and watched her drive for a bit before fixing his black eyes in the same direction as Misty's.

"I'm scared." he said suddenly.

Misty looked over at him quickly then back at the road.

"Of what?" she asked softly.

Ash shook his head,

"I don't know. That's the problem. It could be...a number of things."

"Like what?"

"Like...seeing my family after all this time, following the loss of my memory. It's like I'm meeting them for the first time."

Misty sighed softly and looked over to her right to see of anyone was behind her. There was no one, so she moved her car off the road and onto a shoulder of dirt.

She turned the car off and removed her seat belt so she could face Ash in her seat.

Ash looked at her as if to ask what she was doing.

"Are you afraid they won't love you the same, or something?" she asked gently.

"Maybe...I mean that's a possibility, isn't it?"

"No. We're talking about your _family_, Ash. Why would they love you any less just because you've lost your memory?"

Ash sighed and shook his head.

"You're right...I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's ok to be nervous, Ash. Everyone gets nervous, it's part of life. I understand that you're scared of going back home, but you've got to face it some time. Why not sooner, rather than later?"

Ash looked at her and smiled.

"Thanks, Misty. I dunno what I'd do with out you."

Misty laughed and smiled back.

"You'd probably still be lying on the beach, getting eaten alive by seagulls."

Ash laughed, too.

For God knows how long they sat there just staring at one another. Then Misty broke the silence and the eye contact.

"We should get going. We'll never get there at this rate." she said, a pinkish tint staining her pale cheeks.

Ash nodded and went back to his previous activity of window gazing as Misty started the car back up and drove back on to the road.

__

What was that? thought Ash, _It was like I just lost myself in her eyes..._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The continued drive was uneventful and, at times, extremely quiet.

Every now and then, Ash would strike up a conversation and it would go on for several minutes, but never longer.

At one point, Ash asked Misty if he could turn on the radio. She agreed and Ash channel surfed but found nothing worth hearing, so he shut it off.

That had been a little over an hour ago and they only had a half-hour left. Ash was enjoying the scenery of the mountain roads they were taking and didn't think about anything but what was before him for the majority of the ride.

Misty was concentrating awfully hard considering she was only following a road. It seemed her mind had wondered off to something other than driving. Luckily for her, though, Ash was too busy sightseeing to notice.

The half-hour passed sluggishly, as if the whole world had decided to go in slow motion.

Neither Ash, nor Misty were too thrilled about this. They were getting a little agitated with this long drive, Misty mostly.

__

Wow...I know I said three to four hours but this is ridiculous. This has to be the longest day of my life. she thought irately.

__

But, then again, you've got to remember what_ you're driving all the way to Pallet for. Ash. He needs this, it's important to him, and you _did_ agree to help him out. Besides, if you meet Ash's family, and they know you, then you'll know more about your connection with him._

Ash, meanwhile, had allowed his mind to stray from the scenery and was also thinking, but the subject was quite different.

__

Why does she make me feel this way? he thought helplessly, _It's like she's got this mental hold on me and won't let go...or maybe...maybe I don't _want_ her to let go..._ Ash gulped at this realization and wet his lips unconsciously.

__

But what would it mean if I really didn't _want her to let go...does that mean I..._ his black eyes widened at the unfinished thought.

__

No way...I just met her! There's no possible way I could be... Ash shifted a little in his seat; he needed a new thought topic.

"Misty?" he asked softly.

Misty glanced at him to show she was listening and kept driving.

"Do you have any gum?" he asked quickly.

Misty nodded and reached for her purse, she threw it at Ash.

"It's in there somewhere. Check the front pocket."

"Ok..." he responded looking dumbfounded at the purse in his lap.

Ash looked in the front pocket and at once saw the gum. He pulled the package out and took a piece from it.

"You want some?" he asked Misty, showing the package to her.

Misty shook her head 'no' and immediately opened her mouth to show him she had come.

Ash nodded, placed the package back in its pocket and put the purse back in it's place.

"We'll be there in ten minutes, Ash." Misty suddenly informed him.

Ash looked up quickly and saw a sign that said 'Pallet Town: 10 Miles' (A.N: I figure if you've got a car and you're driving pretty fast, then it would only take about a minute to get through a mile...but I could be wrong b/c I'm car less and license less)

Ash smiled, then quickly frowned.

__

This is it...this is what I've been waiting for for a week now...I'm finally gonna know who I am...

Ash gulped silently and looked over at Misty, who looked a tad jumpy herself.

They finally passed a sign that said 'Pallet Town: 1 Mile'.

"You ready, Ash?" Misty asked shakily.

Ash nodded.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Are -- are you still scared?" Misty asked fretfully.

"A little...but I'll get over it."

Misty nodded and took the exit marked 'Pallet Town'.

Ash could feel his stomach come up in his throat.

"You've got your wallet, right?" Misty asked, slowing down as they entered the tiny town.

"Yeah, I've got it here somewhere. Hold on...here it is." he said fumbling through his wallet.

"Ok, what's the address?"

Ash looked at his license.

"Ok it's: 9034 South Sun Street."

"Ok, help me look for the street sign. You look right, I'll look left."

"Ok."

As they drove slowly down the main road, Ash found it extremely hard to look at only street signs. He was captivated by all the town's people. Did he _really_ know people? And did they _really_ know him?

"Aha!" Misty shouted triumphantly, making Ash snap back to reality. (A.N: 'Oh! There goes gravity.' sorry...I listen to too much Eminem)

"There's the street. Ok, what's the house number, again?" Misty asked, her voice a little shaky.

Ash gulped again and looked back down at his license.

"It's: 9034."

They drove a little more, passing house left and right, both Ash and Misty looking intently at each house number.

"Ash, I don't see it. Are you sure that's what it says?" she asked, unbuckling her seat belt and looking around once more.

"Yeah, positive...There's 9_1_34." he said, unbuckling his seat belt as well.

Misty sighed.

"But you said..." Misty stopped abruptly.

"Ash..." she whispered nervously, "there it is...straight ahead."

Ash looked in the direction Misty indicated and saw it: _His_ house.

He gulped anxiously again and looked at it: it was small and yellow with blue trim and a white roof. In gold numbers on the door was '9034'.

Misty stared, too. She saw that there was a little, white picket fence around the small front yard and a yellow mailbox by the entrance gate. To the right of the fence and mailbox, was a small, gravel driveway.

Misty breathed in heavily and pulled into the driveway. She turned off the car quickly and looked at Ash.

"It's now or never." she said erratically.

Ash looked apprehensively at her and nodded, apparently too worried for words.

Misty pulled the keys from the ignition and opened her door.

Ash opened his, too.

__

Well, this is it...here we go... he thought, trying to calm himself down.

He walked over slowly to where Misty was standing facing of the front door.

"Do you want to knock, or shall I?" she asked, staring at the house's golden number.

"I--I'll knock." he replied.

Misty nodded and moved out of the way so he'd have a full view of the door.

Ash raised his right hand, clenched it in an uneasy fist, and slowly brought it down to the hard wood; it hardly made a sound.

"Harder, Ash, I doubt that anyone inside could've heard that."

Ash raised his hand again, hesitated momentarily, then brought his fist down hard on the door.

"Think that was loud enough?" he asked timidly.

Misty smiled weakly.

"Yes, that was fine."

Then, the doorknob turned...

To Be continued!

(j/k...I'm not _THAT_ mean!)

Slowly the door opened and a short woman with brown hair and Ash's eyes appeared.

When she saw Ash, her face immediately broke into a wide smile.

"Ash! Oh my goodness! You're alive! We all thought you were....dead! Oh my son!" she cried, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"Um...Ms. Ketchum?" asked Misty, slightly regretting breaking up Ash's reunion with his mother.

The woman turned her head and met with Misty's clear, blue eyes. Her face suddenly lightened more.

"Misty! Oh goodness! I'm glad you're alive, too! Oh, everyone will be so happy!" she cried, tears of joy streaming down her pale face.

"Ms. Ketchum, there was an accident --"

"Yes, yes, dear. I know all about the shipwreck."

"No, not that, I mean, with Ash...and me..."

Ms. Ketchum looked at Misty quizzically.

"What do you mean, dear?"

Misty looked at Ash, his black eyes pleading her to tell his mother.

"Ash and I have Amnesia...We remember hardly anything, aside from what's happened since we were found. We--we came here to see if--if you could help."

Ash's mother looked distraught as she moved her gaze back to her son.

"You--you don't remember -- _anything_?"

Ash shook his head and looked at the ground.

"Ms. Ketchum, I just found Ash about a week ago...so he knows less then I do about certain things..."

"But I keep having flashbacks." he said, having spoken to his mother for the first time, to his knowledge.

"Well of course I'll help you two. I'll tell you anything you want to know, anything. Just ask. Oh, but please, come inside first. Have a seat over in that room..."

Ash looked at Misty before entering in after his mother; Misty followed closely.

The two bewildered young adults wandered into the room Ms. Ketchum had pointed out and sat down next to one another on a plaid couch.

Misty looked over at Ash.

"Are you all right?"

Ash turned his head to face her and searched her face with his scared eyes.

"Yes...I'm ok." he said unconvincingly.

Misty saw the discomfort written on his face; she had to help him feel more comfortable.

Then, as if by impulse, her hand gently took hold of his.

Ash looked at her, his breathing becoming normal now, and smiled.

Misty returned the smile and kept a tight hold on his hand; they were sharing another 'moment'. Then, Ash had a flashback:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was sitting at a table with two guys his age; one with brown hair and brown eyes, the other with brown hair as well and ...closed eyes... (A.N: gee, who could _that_ be?) Then he noticed someone else at the table...a girl. He turned to meet her face and he finally saw it, the girl who had been in his two of his previous flashbacks: she was Misty, and she was holding his hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ash? Are you all right?" said Misty's voice as he...snapped back to reality. (A.N: I won't say it this time, just go listen to "Lose Yourself" by Eminem) Her face was covered with worry.

"You were there." he said simply, thinking somehow she'd understand.

"What? I was where?" she asked, still holding his hand as if it were second nature.

"On the ship with me...and two other guys..."

Misty's eyes widened.

"Oh, you--you had another flashback...that's all you saw? Nothing else?"

Ash shook his head.

"No...just that."

Suddenly, Ash's mother reappeared, her arms filled with what looked to be a dozen photo albums.

"I thought these would help." she said, putting them on the coffee table before Ash and Misty.

"Oh, and Ash? There's someone here who'll be very happy to see you." said Ms. Ketchum, smiling broadly.

"Pikachu! Ash is home!"

Seconds later a little, yellow mouse-type animal scurried into the room, spotted Ash and leapt onto him for a hug. Here, Ash received another flashback:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was he, Misty, that guy with the closed eyes (^^') and...the animal his mother had called 'Pikachu'. He was holding 'Pikachu', or rather hugging it, and both he and the animal looked extremely happy.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ash's face lit up.

"PIKACHU!" he cried.

He had finally remembered something.

~~~~~End of Chapter 7~~~~~

To be continued...

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

yea!! after practically 2 months I finally got this done!! Hope you all liked it and that it was long enough for ya (it took me 2 days to type, ya know). and thanks for wishing me luck on my exams!! They're done and I'm on Christmas break so I'll have PLENTY of time to write now!! I have a goal to finish at least _one_ of the two stories I'm writing at the moment.

thanks for reading!! see you in the next chapter!!!

silverserenity2000@yahoo.com

Storyline © Angel: da Newsies fan (formally 'Misty the Jedi Princess')


	9. Windows ME sucks, people

Hey all! I've been having computer problems this entire holiday (figures) so once again (i'm SO SORRY) my chapters will be delayed until I can get the friggen thing to work properly. I've been forced to find other means of internet usage, but I cant type the chapters up on them (they're written, just not typed) so hopefully this thing will get straightened out soon (once again, i'm SO SORRY)

Angel : da Newsies fan


	10. ¤ Chapter 8: Internal Battles ¤

Ages:

Ash-- 21

Misty -- 20

"..." **Spoken Words**

__

italics **Thoughts**

~~~~~~ **Scene changes / flashbacks / change in P.O.V**

(...) **Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: _None_ of the following characters used in this story belong to me, k? Only the plot is mine, the rest....belongs to good ol' Japan ^-^

**__**

Links to the Past

Last Chapter review:

Ash's face lit up.

"PIKACHU!" he cried.

He had finally remembered something.

Chapter 8: _Internal Battles_

Over the next couple of days, Ash and misty talked more and more with Mrs. Ketchum. She ended up telling them almost exactly what they needed to know.

The photo albums and the late night chats have done the situation good, no doubt, but there was still something plaguing Ash's mind; why were there still gaps? One minute there was a memory of he an Misty on one of their nights alone on the town and the next minute it was a flashback of some Pokémon battle fought back when he was a kid.

Ash felt that he should've felt whole, or, at least, semi-complete.

Ash's mom had claimed "there were quite a few things missing", which he supposed would explain the gaps, but Ash felt that he should at least feel relieved, but he didn't. He was still uncertain about some things in his past.

Misty seemed to be moving on quickly and happily, and his mother was absolutely thrilled to have her long lost son back; so happy that she'd promised to throw a humongous bash the moment Ash and Misty fully regained their memories. This may have been what was hindering Ash's progress. It's not as if he didn't _want_ his memory back, because he most certainly did, it was just that he didn't want to let his mother down if it didn't happen. She was so happy, who'd _want_ to burst her bubble?

*I certainly don't.* he thought, staring aimlessly around his backyard from his lawn chair.

Shaking his head, he pushed his uncertain and negative thoughts from his mind and concentrated on his surroundings.

From his lawn chair, Ash was able to see practically every spot in the yard. The entire yard was surrounded by a tall, wooden fence, and the ground was covered in short, green grass that reached all the way to the ends of the paved porch. To his left was a small garden of pink roses next to a wheel barrel full of what looked like fertilizer. Searching further, and turning in the process, Ash discovered a tall Oak tree all the way in the far corner of the vast yard. Looking to his right a little, his eyes fell upon a rock garden next to a small Bonsai tree. Directly on his right, all the way in the bottom right corner, was a small, old garden shed that looked to be about fifteen years old, at the very least. 

Ash sighed and looked above him at the clouds.

He squinted as his eyes were struck by the bright, morning sunlight.

Ash closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair, allowing the subtle wind to blow his unwashed hair any way it pleased.

Then he felt it. It was subtle and almost unnoticeable, but he felt it. He felt it every time she was near him and now at least he knew why. Ash kept his eyes closed, listening for the sliding glass door behind him to slowly open, just like it had every morning for the past two weeks.

He kept his eyes shut when he heard the familiar sound of the door slowly sliding open and that feeling of his growing stronger and stronger as she approached him.

He hears her walk over toward him and suddenly stop behind him. He feels her place her soft, delicate hands upon his shoulders. He smiles when he hears her voice chime.

"Good morning, Ash." she says sleepily, placing a small, quick kiss atop his head.

"Morning, Mist." he replies.

There is a momentary silence between them as Ash relishes in the feelings she's given him. Then something happened that was not routine. Ash finally opened his eyes to discover it. He found himself looking up into the uncertain face of this woman.

He shifted himself so that he was not looking at her upside down and flashed a curiously worried look upon his face.

"Mist, what's wrong?" he asked gently, eyebrows furrowed.

Misty quickly snapped out of her thought and looked down at Ash with a surprised look on her face.

"What do you mean, Ash?"

Ash frowned; asking that question was one of the signs someone has a problem they don't want to discuss.

"Don't give me that. What's going on? Why so quiet all of a sudden?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

If Misty hadn't been concentrating on not telling Ash what was on her mind, she would've found that gesture adorable.

"There's nothing going on, Ash. I was just thinking about something that happened last night, that's all."

Ash's curious face immediately turned into one of concern as he leapt from his chair and grabbed one of Misty's hands.

"What happened last night? Are you Ok? Did someone --" but Ash was cut off by a giggle.

"Ash, nothing _physically_ happened, ok, it was just something that popped into my head." she said airily, waving the hand that Ash wasn't holding.

He looked at her skeptically.

"Oh, ok...if that's all." he said warily, releasing her hand only to notice her glazed look.

He waved a hand in front of her eyes, then snapped; no reaction.

Ash furrowed his brow and stepped closer to her face, looking closely at her, when all of a sudden her eyes blinked furiously and she inhaled sharply. Her, now lively, eyes wide with panic and surprise.

Ash quickly reached up and grabbed the sides of her face with his hands, forcing her to look at him.

"Misty, Misty, calm down." he spoke, "What happened?" he asked slowly and quietly once her breathing had slowed.

"I-I had a flashback, Ash. I had a flashback." she said hurriedly.

"Ok, ok. What did you see?"

This question made Misty freeze and look right at him. She gulped and wet her lips.

"Oh, nothing we didn't, uh, know....before..." she said, biting her lip.

Ash's frown deepened; she was either lying or was extremely nervous about something. She always bit her lip when she was.

But Ash decided not to question her further, for now, and gently released her face.

"Ok." he said slowly, keeping his eyes locked with hers.

Mist bit her lip once more and nodded her head quickly.

"Well, Ash, I, uh, I'm going to go and help you mom make breakfast. I'll, um, call you when it's ready, ok?" she concluded briskly, slowly turning and making her way to the door.

Ash shook his head and plopped back down in his chair.

*The plot thickens...* he thought absentmindedly.

*~*~*

An hour later, weird behavior and lies almost completely forgotten, Ash and Misty were cleaning up the kitchen silently after that morning's breakfast. Every now and then Ash would hear Misty sigh which, for a while, he thought was because of the activity, but as he began to think about it, it led him to believe it had something to do with this morning.

Finally, after a half an hour of soap, water and dirty dishes, Ash and Misty rinsed off their last few items and placed them into the dishwasher for a thorough cleaning. As they left the kitchen, Ash noted that Misty was avoiding eye contact with him.

*C'mon, I'm just paranoid, she's not avoiding me, and there's nothing weird going on.* 

That thought seemed to ease Ash's nerves a little so he was at least able to think of something else.

Around noon that day, Mrs. Ketchum announced that she was taking them out to lunch.

Happy for a distraction, Ash and misty got ready quickly and dove into Mrs. Ketchum's car, Misty claiming the front seat. The ride to the restaurant was quiet as no one could really think of a topic to talk about that would last only a couple of minutes.

After about a 5 minute drive they arrived at their destination: The Pallet Town Diner. (AN: creative name, eh?)

Ash smiled when he saw the sign, remembering all the stories his mom had told him about coming here as a child.

He sighed happily, reliving memory after memory, and strolled over to Misty, almost completely forgetting her odd behavior. She, however, didn't notice him walking up to her, or, if she did, she didn't show it.

Ash furrowed his brow and stopped walking about a foot to her right. He stood and stared at her for a moment, noticing the blank expression on her face. Slowly he reached for her shoulder to bring her back to reality. He touched it softly, hoping that was all she needed, but it didn't work. Ash's frown deepened.

*This is exactly what happened this morning.* he thought, gently shaking Misty in the process.

Suddenly, she gasped sharply and snapped her head in Ash's direction. Her eyes grew wide and shined with what looked like tears. Quickly she turned from him and walked to the entrance as fast as she could.

Ash stood rooted on the spot, dumbstruck.

What was going on? That was the second time today she'd looked at him as if she were going to burst into tears. Did he do something wrong?

Ash exhaled, happy memories gone, as he slowly walked to the entrance. When he was reaching for the door handle, Mrs. Ketchum stuck her head out.

"Ash, burry up, Honey! The table's ready." 

Ash nodded and followed his mother into the diner. Those momentarily forgotten memories quickly rushed back, causing Ash to smile once more.

As he looked around, he felt someone pull him forward. Figuring it was his mother he allowed her to lead him while he looked around. It was a cozy place, as his mother has said, full of people he most likely knew in one way or another.

Suddenly, he felt the person pulling him let go and heard chairs scrapping the floor. He looked down at the table, located an empty chair, and placed himself in it.

He looked to his left and saw his mother dive right into the rather large menu and smiled slightly. He then looked to his right, expecting to see Misty doing the same, but she sat stationary, staring blankly at her glass of water.

Ash furrowed his brow again and looked over at his mother, who was lost behind the high walls of her menu. 

Ash needed to get her attention, so he lightly tapped her leg with his foot under the table. It worked and she looked at him with questioning eyes. 

He quickly looked over at Misty and then back to his mother, who was still looking at him oddly. He subtly nodded his head in Misty's direction, hoping his mother would get what he was trying to do.

Apparently, she did, because she closed her menu, placed it down on the table and looked at Misty. Her face was instantly covered with worry.

"Misty dear, why don't you order something? They have excellent entrees here. Go on, take a look." Mrs. Ketchum said, pointing to the menu before Misty.

Misty shifted her gaze from her water glass to the menu and immediately she began to cry freely. She let out a little whimper and quickly got up from the table, running to the exit.

Ash's eyes widened as he worriedly watched her leave.

Mrs. Ketchum abruptly rose to go after her, but Ash stopped her.

"I'll go Mom, you stay here and order something." Ash said, rising from his chair.

Mrs. Ketchum nodded, sighed a little and looked back at her menu with a little less interest.

Ash quickly strode to the door misty had bolted out of and, after opening it, found her sitting on the curb of the sidewalk, crying like there was no tomorrow.

Ash's frowned deepened still more at this. He walked quietly over and placed himself beside her heaving form, not saying a word.

He let this carry on for a few more minutes, and until he heard her muffled cries die down.

Slowly he turned his head to her.

"You wanna tell me what's going on, Mist?" he asked softly.

He heard another choked sob escape her lithe form as he said this. Scooting closer he placed an arm around her shoulders. Instantaneously, she tensed and pried her heavy head from her folded arms. She looked at him momentarily before her eyes welled up with tears once more. She moved to put her face back in the cradle of her arms, but Ash stopped her with his hand, forcing her to look at him.

His face showed a mixture of feelings; he was trying to be sympathetic, but stern at the same time, he was worried about her, he was....a number of things.

"What is going on?" he asked her frankly.

She momentarily ceased her crying and sniffed. She bit her lip and gulped.

"I-I can't tell you." she said simply, her eyes threatening to spill more tears.

Ash sighed but held his position.

"Why not? Why can't you tell my why you look like you're going to cry every time you look at me? Why can't you tell me why you almost can't bear being in the same room with me? Why? Because I deserve to know, Misty. We haven't kept any secrets so far, let's not start now."

Misty gulped again as her lower lip trembled.

"O-ok..." she said, pausing to lick her trembling lips.

Ash nodded and let go of her face.

Misty took a deep breath and began.

"Remember this morning when I told you I had a flashback and I told you it was about something we already knew?"

Ash nodded.

"Well, that-that was a lie." she said sniffing constantly.

Ash left his face as expressionless as possible and nodded again, willing her to continue.

"My flashback was about something that happened...between...us." She bit her lip again and drew a shaky breath, reading herself to continue.

"It's also connected with this place." she said, gesturing to the diner.

Ash nodded once more, fully keeping his attention on her.

"Ash, we-we....we broke up here."

Ash furrowed his brow for what must've been the millionth time that day.

"What are you talking about?"

Misty's eyes slowly let the tears fall as she averted her gaze to the ground.

"We broke up here." she stated again.

Ash sighed.

"Ok, I understand that part, but _why_ did we break up?"

Misty choked another sob, still refusing to look at him.

"If you honestly don't remember, then-then there's, uh, no reason to...remind you..."

Ash shook his head and gently grabbed her face again.

"Uh-uh, no, we're not doing that. You need to tell me why, you can't just say 'we broke up here' and not tell me why, Mist, it doesn't work that way." he said, getting rather exasperated, still holding her face to look at him.

"But Ash, it --"

"No, 'buts', Misty. Tell me." he interrupted.

Misty broke down into tears again, her face still in Ash's hand.

"I-I....cheated on you." she cried, pulling her head from Ash's hand and burying it in her own.

Ash gulped and looked at her crying form; she looked so completely miserable and it was blatantly obvious she was regretting even having the flashback.

Ash reached toward her and pulled her shaking body to his chest.

"Now, now. That's all in the past, Mist, don't dwell on it. I mean, look at it this way." he continued, softly stroking her red hair, "Even if we _did_ break up, it doesn't matter because we obviously got back together before we went on that cruise." he concluded soothingly.

Ash then sat in silence for an expanse of ten minutes, the only sound from Misty's slowing sobs. After another five minutes of sobbing, Misty cried her last tear and looked up at Ash.

She sniffed.

"Do you really feel that way?"

Ash smiled lightly.

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't."

Then Misty did something she hadn't done all day; she smiled back. So they sat there in one another's arms, just staring at each other....until that moment came. That moment where you know everything in alright, that moment where all you feel is joy and love...and in that moment is when you express it. Ash slowly leaned toward Misty, and Misty followed suit, tilting her head in the opposite direction of Ash's, and then their lips met. (AN: Wow...that's gotta be the cheesiest and fluffiest thing I have ever written! lol, but I suppose it explained 'the moment' well, huh? hehe)

*~*~*

Forty-five minutes. That's how long it took Ash and Misty to return to the table, and when they did, they were glowing. (AN: Well, you'd be too if you just had your 'first kiss' with you amnesiac boyfriend!) Misty was no longer crying and was holding Ash's hand with a death grip.

They strode over to the table where Mrs. Ketchum was seated, only to discover two new faces.

"Oh Ash, Misty, I'm so glad you're both alright now." she squeaked, "We were _just_ talking about you two. Ash, Misty, I don't know if you remember him, but this is Professor Oak." she said pointing to an older-looking man.

"And this," she continued, pointing to a younger-looking man who looked oddly familiar, "is his grandson, Gary."

Almost immediately Ash and Misty put two and two together and they hurriedly looked at one another; _this_ was the 'Gary Oak' they had been searching for in Cerulean.

~~~~~ End of Chapter 8 ~~~~~

To be continued...

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

Well, it's been a while, eh? Yea, sorry about that...I'm the biggest procrastinator, PLEASE forgive me! I spent all day working on finishing this chapter and I PROMISE to have the next one out quicker....

Oh, one more thingy, I've set a limit for myself to finish this, so there's only going to be 2 or 3 more chapters. Believe me, if I don't set myself a limit, I'll NEVER FINISH...that's just the way my weird brain works, I suppose.

Well:

What did ya think?

Email me: silverserenity2000@yahoo.com

(or you could just press 'review'....hehehehe)

Storyline © Angel: da Newsies fan


	11. ¤ Chapter 9: Revelation ¤

Welcome to chapter 9! Told you this one would be up quicker than the last! I am determined to finish this story SOON! Only a couple more chappies left! Ok, here are my "thanks":

~!~!~!~!~!~

Ages:

Ash-- 21

Misty -- 20

"..." **Spoken Words**

__

italics **Thoughts**

~~~~~~ **Scene changes / flashbacks / change in P.O.V**

(...) **Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: _None_ of the following characters used in this story belong to me, k? Only the plot is mine, the rest....belongs to good ol' Japan ^-^

**__**

Links to the Past

Last Chapter review:

"Oh Ash, Misty, I'm so glad you're both alright now." she squeaked, "We were just talking about you two. Ash, Misty, I don't know if you remember him, but this is Professor Oak." she said pointing to an older-looking man.

"And this," she continued, pointing to a younger-looking man who looked oddly familiar, "is his grandson, Gary."

Almost immediately Ash and Misty put two and two together and they hurriedly looked at one another; this was the 'Gary Oak' they had been searching for in Cerulean.

Chapter 9: Revelation

Ash and Misty looked away from one another and then back at Gary, who looked quite confused himself.

"Uh, hello." Ash greeted nervously.

Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum exchanged silent looks of amazed confusion; it seem that, basically, everyone was confused in one way or another.

Gary half-smiled and held out a hand to Ash.

"Hello....Ash?" he addressed questioningly.

Ash nodded and took his hand.

~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~

Ash is standing at the bow of a cruise ship next to a young man with brown hair (AN: Who we now know to be Gary).

"I don't understand why you would do this to me, Gary. I thought we'd put this childish rivalry behind us." Ash said, hurt evident in his voice.

Ash heard Gary sigh heavily and turned to face him.

"It's not rivalry, Ash, I promise. It was a total and complete accident. She and I can both vouch for that, just ask her. I only happened once --"

"It shouldn't have happened at all." Ash interrupted.

Gary sighed again.

"You're right, Ash, it shouldn't have happened at all. But the point is that it did and there's nothing we can do about it now. But I know I can speak for Misty and myself when I _promise_ it will never happen again." Gary said, lightly placing a hand on Ash's shoulder. "She doesn't love me, Ash, she loves you, so I don't understand what your problem is."

"My problem," Ash cried, throwing Gary's hand from his arm, "is that you came on to my girlfriend, who I was about to propose to, and did God knows what!_ That's_ my problem, Gary, all right!" Ash breathed heavily and swallowed. "I thought you were my friend, man." he concluded, shaking his head and turning back to the front of the ship, leaning on the railing. Staring out over the water at the sunset, he hears Gary sigh, but misses the almost relieved look on his face.

"Ash, I _am_ your friend, which is why I'll do anything to make it up to you, anything, just name it."

Ash sighed once more and closed his eyes momentarily. 

Opening them, he say says, "I don't think there's anything you _can_ do."

~~~~END OF FLASHBACK~~~~

Ash quickly returned to reality, breathing quickly. Everyone was looking at him in confusion, everyone, that is, except Misty. She had a pretty good idea of what he'd seen.

Ash looked at Gary, who was looking more confused then ever, and realized he was still holding his hand. He quickly let it go and look over at Misty who was, for the second time that day, avoiding his eyes.

He sighed and turned back to Gary who was looking between the couple with an eyebrow raised.

Ash cleared his throat and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry, man." he said to Gary,

"Oh it's alright, no sweat." he responded, wetting his lips. Then he looked over at Misty for a moment and furrowed his brow.

"Are you alright there, Miss?" All eyes turned to Misty, who looked down at the floor and blushed at all the sudden attention.

"Oh, um, I'm fine, thanks." she responded, wringing her hands.

Ash narrowed his eyes. Was she still 'sorry' about doing 'things' with this guy? Because right then it looked more like she was embarrassed to see him because she has feeling for him, no, because she's _ashamed_ that she has feelings for him.

Keeping his eyes narrowed, he looked back over at Gary who was now looking at the menu.

"Ash, dear," Mrs. Ketchum said, "why don't you and Misty have a seat, huh?"

Ash snapped his head toward his mother.

"Oh, okay, Mom." Ash said, pulling out the chair beside Gary to sit in. 

Misty sighed silently, pulled out the remaining chair and sat in it.

She bit her lower lip and cautiously looked over at Ash, who was staring in the direction of Professor Oak and Mrs. Ketchum's conversation.

She lightly nudged him with her elbow to get his attention, but he merely scooted farther away from her.

Misty sighed heavily and clenched her teeth; she refused to cry even a tear of frustration.

Meanwhile, Ash was thinking about his vision, his memory. But was there more to it then what he'd seen?

Misty had said she'd cheated on him. Kissing a guy once doesn't qualify for cheating...but then again, he'd just assumed she'd only kissed him. She'd never actually stated _how_ she'd cheated on him.

*Maybe there's more to then situation then she's letting on, or more that I have yet to discover,* was on thought.

*But what if she's just over exaggerating? Maybe she is so ashamed about kissing him that it filled her full of that much guilt.*

Uh, the first was definitely more likely.

~*~*~

After lunch and a superfluous conversation between Ash and Professor Oak about Fire Pokémon, Ash, Misty and Mrs. Ketchum said their good-byes to Oaks.

Ash then discovered that this Gary character only lived up the street; he was definitely going to remember that.

Once again, Misty claimed the front, so Ash lounged in back, mentally preparing himself for the confrontation that was about to take place.

Ten minutes later, the car pulled into it's quaint, gravel driveway, beside Misty's car, and was pulled to a halt by a happy Mrs. Ketchum, who sensed no tension between her son and his girlfriend.

Ash quickly removed himself from car and slammed the door, while Misty purposefully took her sweet time; she was in no hurry to start a brawl.

Ash stormed into his house after his mother and let himself out into the backyard. He stalked across the yard hastily and plopped down on one of the bigger rocks in the rock garden. (AN: remember that?) A few minutes later, Misty emerged into the backyard. Ash, knowing who it was, didn't look up.

Misty took one look at him and gulped. What actually _had_ he seen? It obviously had something with Gary and herself, but what was it exactly? Misty pondered this as she cautiously made her way toward Ash, who still had not acknowledged her presence. Finally, she reached him.

"Um, Ash...Can we talk?" she asked in a small, quiet voice.

"What about?" Ash responded tonelessly, still not looking at her.

He heard her sigh.

"I know what you saw, Ash. And...and I think we need to talk about it." she stated quickly.

"What is it you think I saw?" he responded, again sounding emotionless and not looking at her.

Misty gulped and lowered herself onto the ground before the rock garden, sitting cross-legged.

"Well...I-I think it had to do with...um, something that happened between Gary...and-and I...but, um, I'm not sure...what."

This got Ash to look at her.

Her heart plummeted with one look into his eyes; there was immense pain and a look betrayal...then those narrowed.

"So there _was_ something you didn't tell me then. Enlighten me, Misty. What happened between the two of you that you failed to mention?" he said, his voice trembling with suppressed anger.

Misty bit her lip and averted her eyes to the ground.

"W-well...Uh, I-I --"

"Ya know, forget it. I think I've got a pretty good idea of what _really_ happened anyway." he interrupted, his voice cold biting. 

Misty looked up at him, shocked.

"Ash, I think I've got the right to tell you what really happened, okay." she responded, her voice getting louder by minute.

"Yeah, well then tell me instead of stuttering about it, all right? That doesn't get your point across any faster."

Misty shot up from the ground like a rocket; then she exploded like one.

"Ok! You wanna know what _really_ happened, Ash? Fine! I'll 'enlighten' you! You probably don't remember this but my brother had just been killed rabid Dragonite while working at a Dragon Pokémon ranch up North." she started hastily. She stopped momentarily, trying to regain her composure. "We had both just returned from his funeral and I was depressed and told you I wanted to go out alone. You said okay, though not willingly, and I left and went to a bar."

She stopped again, taking deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "While there, I ran into Gary. _He_ came and talked to _me_, and I wanted to be alone, okay. He sat down and we talked for a while about my brother, our places of employment, and other meaningless crap I don't remember. We kept on ordering drinks for a few hours, not realizing how intoxicated we already were." she halted again, snatching a glance at Ash, who was looking at the ground intently.

She continued.

"By the end of the night, we were all over one another, not even comprehending who each other were, of course. I don't remember anything else, except..." she stopped again, biting her lip and halting her pacing. "...except that I woke up next to him." she concluded quietly.

Then she couldn't hold it in anymore.

She fell to her knees and cried her eyes out, not expecting Ash to even care. She kept bawling for another five minutes, but halted abruptly when she felt strong arms encircle her, pulling her shaking form into a comforting hug. Misty looked up in astonishment and saw that it was Ash.

He said nothing, only kissed her head, wordlessly comforting her.

Misty lowered her head and cried on and on with Ash just cradling her.

"I love you, Misty. I'll always love you, no matter what happens between us." he said, once her crying started to calm.

He heard a chocked sob as she abruptly stopped crying and hugged him tightly.

"I love you, too, Ash. I love you, too." she replied in a shaky voice.

~~~~~End of chapter 9~~~~~

To be continued...

~!~!~!~!~!~

Kinda mushy there at the end, eh? *lol* sorry, couldn't resist.

I KNOW Misty doesn't have a brother in the game or the Animé, but in this story, she does, that's why it's an AU ^_~.

Ok so, school's started for me 2 weeks ago, so I've been super busy. I meant to finish this chapter before I went back, but I got tied up, oh well, here it is now.

SO....

What didja think?

Email: silverserenity2000@yahoo.com

ttyl!!

See ya next chapter (A LOT of things happen in chapter 10...it'll be the plot wrap up...it's almost over guys!! *sobs* try to continue living, okay? ..like that'll be a problem..)

MOVIES TO RENT:

__

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Rudy (an older movie, with Sean Astin)and _The Lizzie McGuire Movie_.

MOVIES TO GO SEE IN THE THEATER WHEN THE COME OUT, IF THEY HAVEN'T ALREADY:

__

Freaky Friday and _The Order _(Sept. 5).

*lol* ok bye!

Storyline © Angel: da Newsies fan


	12. ¤ Chapter 10 ¤

.......PLEASE don't hurt me. I know it's been super long since I wrote last, but, to be completely honest, I've had a terrible case of writer's block. It's weird because I _know_ what I want to happen and what I want to write, it's just that I can't form it into paragraphs and dialogue...weird stuff. Anyway, it's been almost a year, hasn't it? And, since it's been so long, I'll just start up with the story, I REALLY need to finish this thing already, it's WAY over due.

!!!!!

Ages:

Ash-- 21

Misty -- 20

"..." **Spoken Words**

__

italics **Thoughts**

**Scene changes / flashbacks / change in P.O.V**

(...) **Author's Notes**

Disclaimer: _None_ of the following characters used in this story belong to me, k? Only the plot is mine, the rest....belongs to good ol' Japan -

**__**

Links to the Past

Last Chapter review:

(Since it's been so long, I'll summarize):

- Ash and Misty have a reunion with Gary and Professor Oak.

- Ash has a flashback about himself and Gary on the cruise line talking about his and Misty's affair.

- Ash is then wary of Gary and pretty much gives Misty the cold shoulder.

- He and Misty have a confrontation later at Ash's house where she explains everything that happened and how ashamed she is of what happened.

- Chapter ends with her crying her eyes out while apologizing and Ash encircling her in a forgiving hug.

(Now here's the final couple sentences from last chapter):

__

He said nothing, only kissed her head, wordlessly comforting her.

Misty lowered her head and cried on and on with Ash just cradling her.

"I love you, Misty. I'll always love you, no matter what happens between us." he said, once her crying started to calm.

He heard a chocked sob as she abruptly stopped crying and hugged him tightly.

"I love you, too, Ash. I love you, too." she replied in a shaky voice.

Chapter 10:

For a long while, Ash and Misty sat quietly in his living room, each reveling in the other's presence, wordlessly expressing their affection by merely holding the other as tight as they were. They were sitting on the carpeted floor before the unlit fireplace. Ash was kneeling awkwardly, leaning up against a piece of furniture, holding his love while she cried relentlessly. One hand was comfortingly stroking her bright red tresses and the other was holding her hand, squeezing in a comforting way every so often.

"Honey..." he heard a soft voice start and quickly trail off.

He glanced to his right and spotted his mother standing under the archway leading to the kitchen, a sympathetic, yet confused, look upon her face. Seeming to understand slightly, she smiled weakly, nodded and quickly ducked back into the kitchen.

That's when Ash noticed that Misty's shaking had morphed into gentle breathing. Ash kissed her forehead and, as he rose to his feet, tentatively lifted her awkwardly into some sort of a standing position. Seeing that she was in deed asleep, he sighed and smiled, heaping her into his arms and carrying her toward the rooms in the back of the house.

When he reached the first door, he stopped before it and attempted to turn the knob with out losing his balance. After fumbling for a moment, the door slowly squeaked open to reveal a dimly lit room with a queen sized bed frame pushed up against the back wall. To Ash's right, there was a white-washed dresser with a small cream-colored lamp perched upon it. Across the way, to the left of the bed, there was a picture window with a small window seat attached to it's front.

Ash pushed the door open the rest of the way with his foot and waltzed in toward the bed. Reaching it, he placed Misty's drooping head on top of one of the fluffy white pillows and the rest of her sleeping body to rest on top of the pale blue bed spread. As deftly as he could, Ash pulled the comforter from under his sleeping girlfriend and placed it over her latent form. Kissing her forehead once more, he rose to look at her momentarily. He sighed tiredly and quietly exited the room, softly closing the door on his way out.

As he walked back down the hall, he suddenly had an overwhelming urge to go and speak with Gary. So, following his feelings, he quickly walked toward the entry hall and opened the front door.

"I'll be back in a minute, Mom." he said loudly enough for her to reply,

"All right, dear."

Pondering the conversation he was about to have with the man who slept with his girlfriend, he exited the house and walked steadily up the street toward the area Gary had indicated as being his place of residence.

After walking for about five minutes, a short, but wide, black fence came into view. The fence surrounded a small hill. At it's top sat none other then the house Gary had described as his own. Determination set in his mind, he continued walking toward the fence and, opening it's gate, walked up the hill, toward the house. Once he reached the house's walkway, he began to get slightly nervous. Did Gary remember what happened? Would he tell him the _truth_? If Gary did know anything else, would he tell him? With these questions in mind, Ash jogged to the front door.

He stopped once he reached it and sent his trembling hand in the direction of the white doorknocker. He lifted it slowly and, his heartbeat racing, quickly let it fall back to the surface of the door with a loud THUNK; Ash did this twice more and stepped back to wait.

With in a span of approximately twenty seconds, Ash heard the sound of the door unlocking. He watched, gulping, as it's silver knob turned and the door opened toward the house.

"Ash. What a pleasant surprise." he heard someone say, "Please, come in."

Ash obliged their request and stepped over the threshold. He lingered in the doorway momentarily before taking another step.

When he was completely inside the house, his eyes met those of who let him inside; Gary.

"What can I do for you?" he asked somewhat jovially.

Ash averted his black eyes from Gary's brown ones to stare at the wall.

"I was wondering if I could speak with you about something. Something that I need to have cleared up." he replied, still not looking at Gary.

"Yea, sure, that's fine. Why don't you come into the living room and sit down. We can talk there." Gary said, leading the way into the room closest to the front door.

Ash followed slowly and sat in the chair beside the couch Gary had placed himself in the middle of.

"So, what is it that you need cleared up?" he heard Gary ask him conversationally.

Ash swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat and stared intently at the beige-colored carpet.

"Well, I, uh...I don't really know how to begin this...Um...Well, you...you know about my amnesia, correct?" he began inarticulately.

"Yes, I do. I suffered through the same ordeal only a month ago. I do hope everything comes back to you." he said in a sad-sounding voice.

Ash nodded and then it hit him. Gary _had suffered_...that was past tense, which meant, he had fully regained his memory and, therefore, would remember the mishap he had come to inquire him over.

"Well, I'm slowly getting memories back, you know, having flash backs and what not, and, um...my most recent flash back concerned, well...you."

Ash now looked at Gary, who was now looking less jovial then when he'd answered the door.

"You had a flash back about me? Well, what did you see? Perhaps I could fill in the gaps." he replied, not looking as if he wished to "fill" anything at the moment.

Ash allowed a small smile to grace his features.

"Well, it was about a conversation that you and I had been having concerning an, um, incident that happened between you and...my girlfriend."

That was all that needed to be said. Gary knew immediately what Ash was talking about judging by the somewhat petrified look on his face. Gary swallowed.

"Oh...you, uh, know what happened then, I assume."

Ash nodded half-heartedly.

"Yes, Misty told me."

Gary nodded and swallowed again.

"Well, what, uh, did you want to know about that...occurrence?" he asked, cringing when he'd said the last word.

"I want to know everything. I want to know what happened that lead up to it and I want to know what happened after...I just, want to be filled in. I want you to tell me what you remember. To tell me more about that conversation I had a flash back about..." Ash stated, ticking everything off on his fingers.

Gary nodded and slouched back into the couch.

"Well...I suppose I'll start from the beginning. I'm not sure if you remember, but we were out to dinner, you, Misty, myself and, my girlfriend at the time, Trisha. We'd been there for a little over an hour, celebrating someone's birthday, I think Trish's, when Misty got the news about her brother's attack...I assume she mentioned that?"

Ash nodded and Gary continued.

"So, Trish and I offered our condolences, you and Misty left and, from what I know, returned to your apartment. She called her parents, they told her what had happened and the funeral arrangements were made. About a week later, all four of us were at the funeral back in Cerulean City. The gathering after the funeral lasted most of the day, I believe, Trish and I left half way through because she had to be somewhere for work, so I took her. You stayed with Misty. I assume you left when it was over. From what I was told, by her, the two of you had a small fight on the way back to her parent's house and when you got there, she went out, saying she wanted to be alone. That's...when she met me."

FLASHBACK

Misty sighed and downed another shot of Vodka, slamming the glass roughly onto the counter when she was through.

"Another, please." she said simply to the bartender, who poured her another shot quickly, leaving the bottle for later use.

"Hey, Mist." she heard beside her. She turned her head to the right and came face to face with none other then her boyfriend's best friend.

She sighed in annoyance.

"Gary, what the heck are _you_ doing in a bar on Tuesday night at 1am?"

Gary smiled a small smile and sat down next to the slightly inebriated woman.

"I would ask you the same question, but I think I've got a pretty good idea about the answer."

"What'll ya have?" came the gruff voice of the bartender.

Gary looked at him with slight annoyance and ordered a scotch to get him to leave.

Once he was in possession of his drink, he directed his attention back at Misty, who was in the process of pouring herself another shot.

"You know that won't help, right?" he said to her as she downed another glass and slammed it on the counter once more.

"Perhaps not, but it helps to at least numb the pain."

"Where's Ash?"

Misty looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Where's Trish?"

Gary laughed slightly and downed his scotch in one gulp. Signaling the bartender for another, he sniffed and looked at the counter.

"She's at home, asleep. She had a headache when she got home from work and went straight to bed."

Misty picked up the now half empty bottle of vodka and stared at it.

"Ash is home too...We had a fight and I left." she sighed sorrowfully, "I should go home."

Gary looked at her after downing his second glass of scotch.

"Perhaps you should. I'm sure he's worried about you. I'm surprised he didn't follow you." he said as the bartender filled his glass once more.

"He would have had I not told him I wanted to be alone. He has this odd thing about respecting my alone time."

Gary smiled and sipped on his drink this time.

"Yes, he does, doesn't he?"

Misty nodded ruefully and poured herself another shot.

"So how are you doing?" Gary asked as he watched her swallow another vodka shot.

Misty put down her glass, wiped her mouth and looked at him.

"How does it look like I'm doing?" she said sarcastically.

Gary nodded and returned to his drink.

After an hour, Misty had to have the bartender confiscate the bottle of Vodka from her, while Gary had had one too many drinks himself.

"You, young missy, should go home. It's almost three in the morning." said the bartender in his gruff voice, as Misty struggled to retrieve the bottle he was holding. "And take your boyfriend here with you." he said, pointing to Gary.  
They looked at one another and broke out in laughter.

"He's not -hic- my 'boyfriend'. I've all ready got one of those." she said in her drunken stupor.

They left the bar, leaning on one another, both totally drunk. Misty hugged Gary around the waist.

"Walk me home." she said.

END OF FLASHBACK

Gary gulped and looked at Ash.

"Ash, I really am sorry. I swear that if I had been sober, I definitely would NOT have come onto your girlfriend and I can assure you she would NOT have come on to me either."

Ash, who had not said a word since Gary's story had begun, heaved a sigh and looked out of the sitting room window.

"Don't worry, Gary, I understand...at least, I guess I do. I mean, obviously I'm not thrilled about the fact that my girlfriend has had certain relations with another man whilst being in a relationship with me...but, as much as I'd like to, I can't really be angry with you, or her. I guess...I guess I just...I don't know..." he finished lamely, cradling his head in his hands.

Gary heaved a sigh and slumped back into the couch.

"Ash, I don't know if I deserve your forgiveness. Don't get me wrong, I want it, probably more then anything else in the world, but, I just don't think I deserve it. I betrayed you, accidentally of course, but still...I have to take responsibility for my actions."

Ash removed his head from his hands enough to see Gary's face laced with extreme guilt. Ash sighed once more and rose from his chair.

"Well, whether you accept it or not, I'm granting it...I-I forgive you." he said, averting his eyes momentarily, "I forgave Misty...so it's only fair that I forgive you as well...I mean, it takes two to tango, right?"   
At this point, Ash turned his eyes back on Gary, whose face was now laced with a mixture of shock and relief. He smiled a little and held his hand out to the man before him.

"Friends?"

Gary looked at Ash's hand for a moment before smiling and rising up to stand.

"Friends." he stated, taking Ash's offered hand and shaking it firmly.

Ash nodded and smiled a little more.

"Good."

About an hour later, Gary's and Ash's laughter could be heard all throughout the house. They were, at present, reliving childhood memories.

"Oh, do you remember," Gary started, clapping his hands together, "the day we both were to begin our Pokémon training and you got to Grandpa's lab late so the only Pokémon left was the yellow one...um, Pikachu! The one you carried with you everywhere, even if you weren't in battle."

Ash nodded and chuckled a bit.

"Of course I remember that day, what about it?"

Gary licked his lips and pulled forward on the couch so that he was at it's edge.

"Well, the thing that stands out in my mind the most from that day was when your mother scurried over to you holding your backpack and she says 'Make sure you change your underwear everyday, sweetie!'." This caused Gary to howl with laughter.

Ash laughed a bit as well.

"Of course, how could I forget. Every time I spoke to my mom after that she always asked if I was wearing clean underwear. It was quite embarrassing, actually. Although, now that I think about it, it is a bit funny...although, not as funny as _you_ seem to think it is, but funny none the less." he said, still laughing.

Soon the laughing ceased a bit and there was a comfortable silence amongst them.

Sighing, Gary looked out of the window in contemplation. Suddenly, a thought hit him and he quickly looked over at Ash.

"Ash," he said promptly.

Ash looked over, a small smile still on his face.

"Hmm?"

"Ash, what do you remember about the reason we all went on the cruise ship?"

Ash raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember the reason we originally decided to go on the cruise?"

Ash thought for a moment.

"Actually, no I don't. Why? Was it something other then a pleasure trip?"

Gary smiled and anxiously sat up.

"Ash you were going to ask Misty something...don't you remember? C'mon, you _have _to remember! It's sort of a life changing decision."

Ash scrunched his brow in confusion when a thought suddenly hit him.

"You...you mean I was going to....with...oh my gosh. No way...no way....I was going to ask her to....whoa...Are you _sure_ I mentioned that, because that's just...wow..."

Gary smiled and laughed loudly.

"Am I sure? The whole cruise thing was your idea. I just agreed so she wouldn't be suspicious."

Ash gulped and looked intently at Gary.

"I was really going to ask her that?"

Gary nodded.

"Yep. You bought a ring and everything."

Ash started.

"A ring? A ring for what?"

Gary was taken aback.

"What do you mean 'a ring for what'?! How else do you ask a girl to marry you?"

Ash's eyes widened and he shot up from his seat like a rocket.

"WHAT?"

Some time later that night, Ash was walking up to his house in deep contemplation.

If he was going to ask Misty to marry him, he was going to have to do some serious planning. Firstly, he'd need a new ring, as he obviously no longer had the other one. Secondly, he'd need to work out the best place to do it, preferably somewhere that did not involve any bodies of water or things that could potentially sink. Thirdly, there was the planning for the ceremony if she said yes. Fourthly, was the Tux and who was to be his best man and what not...but for now, maybe he should focus on the first obstacle: The Ring.

Ash smiled and heaved a contented sigh when he reached his doorstep; this was going to be a lot of fun.

Early the next morning, Ash was out the door, Misty's car keys in hand. It's not like she knew where anything was in Pallet anyway, so where was she going to go?

Ash, realizing he didn't know his way around as good as he'd originally thought, drove around with difficulty looking for any stores he could find that might sell engagement rings. So far, he'd found a few promising places and he'd looked at quite a few rings, but none of them seemed good enough.

When it was almost three in the afternoon, Ash decided that if he didn't find anything here, that he would resume his search the next day. Besides, he didn't know how he was going to ask her anyway. Sighing with weariness, he parked the car, sluggishly pulled himself out of it and walked up to his final store of the day: _AKM Jewelry_.

Upon Ash's opening of the door, a bell promptly rang above him, signaling to the clerk behind the glass cases, who at the moment had their back turned, that someone had just arrived.

"Good afternoon, dear. If you need help with anything, let me know." said the petite, old woman behind the counter, her back still turned.

Ash nodded, even though she couldn't see him, and began looking around for rings.

He lingered a few moments at a case of emerald encrusted bracelets and earrings before walking over to the lady behind the counter.

"Um, excuse me." he said politely.

The woman behind the counter spun rather quickly for her apparent age and waddled closer to the counter.

"Yes young man? What can I do for you?" she asked, smiling, revealing a rather toothless mouth.

Ash smiled in return and turned his eyes to the glass cases under his hands.

"Um, I was wondering if you could direct me to the section that holds the, uh, rings."

"Ah, the rings. What kind of ring, boy? Anniversary ring, class ring, silver and gold bands, jeweled rings, wedding rings..." she trailed off here and gave him a good stern look before her toothless mouth spread into another broad smile. "...Engagement rings."

Ash looked up at her tentatively and cracked a small smile.

"Um, yea, those."

The woman held her smile and began waddling over to the glass cases on Ash's right, all the way toward the back of the store.

Ash followed a little ways behind her, trying not to seem too eager.

The woman kept walking until she reached the second to last case and stopped behind it. She looked up at him and pointed his a pudgy hand.

"This one here. Take as long as you like." she said simply before waddling away once more, leaving Ash alone with a case full of possible engagement rings.

Licking his lips, Ash prepared himself for possible disappointment but tried to be optimistic; this was, approximately, his twenty-fifth store of the day.

He started on the left side of the case, seeing diamonds cut in all shapes and in all sizes, they were all just too gaudy. Ash sighed, think this was going to be as all the other stores he'd been to when his eye caught it. A simple rounded diamond encased in six silver prongs, paced in the midst of the thin, white gold band. Although it was simple, Ash could call it nothing but the first word that had popped into his head: Perfect. It was just like her; beautiful, brilliant, luminous, precious and, last but certainly not least, simple and uncomplicated. It was just right.

"Ma'am!" Ash called rather enthusiastically.

The woman waddled over as quickly as she could manage.

"Yes young man? Have you found what you were looking for?" she asked knowingly.

Ash nodded.

"Um, yes. I'd like to get this one here." he said, pointing to his perfect ring, "How much is it?"

The old woman smiled and crossed her arms over her chest.

"How much do you have?"

Ash stopped for a moment and then began searching his pockets for his wallet. He then pulled out the money he had found the night before stored safely in his closet, just where Gary had requested he look, and began counting it. He licked his lips and looked back at the woman when he was finished counting.

"One-thousand." he said, hope shinning in his eyes.

The woman continued to smile and began to walk toward him.

"Now, which one did you pick?" she asked, walking behind the case and extracting a key from her pocket.

Ash pointed to the ring once more and the old woman pulled it out of the case and held it close to her eye, examining it.

"Well, what do you know?" she said, her smiled ever broadening, "It's exactly one-thousand. Aren't you the lucky one? Or should I say, _she_."

Ash grinned brightly and followed the old woman as she waddled back up to the register. She took the ring, polished it off a bit and placed it in a beautiful black velvet box.

"Ah, perfect. You made an excellent choice. I do hope she likes it." she said, handing Ash the box.

Ash gulped and nodded, handing her the money and then taking the box from her.

The woman pulled a pouch from under the counter and placed the money in it. She then turned to Ash once more.

"You have a nice day young man, and good luck."

Ash smiled and placed the ring box into his pocket.

"Thank you, Ma'am. You have a nice day, as well."

By the time Ash was home once more, it was going on five o' clock. He pulled Misty's car into the drive way and jogged up to the door. Upon opening it, he was assaulted by two female voices.

"Ash, where have you been? It's almost dinner. Why did you leave so early this morning?" came Ms. Ketchum's worried voice.

"Ash, why did you take my car with out even asking me? And where have you been driving? How much of my gas did you use? Is there even enough to drive to the gas station?" were Misty's questions.

Ash raised his hands in defeat.

"Okay, okay. One question at a time. Can I at least sit down first?" he pleaded, making his way toward the living room.

He was, however, halted by Misty's angry form.

"No, you can't 'sit down first'. I want to know where you've been and why in God's name you needed my car! I mean, God Ash, I thought you'd skipped town or something!"

Ash sighed and grasped Misty by the shoulders.

"Misty, why on earth would I have skipped town?"

Misty shrugged off his hands and backed away a little.

"You know very well why I'd think that...Did you have to go and scare the life out of me like that?" she said, her voice now more sad than angry.

Ash furrowed his brow and walked closer to her.

"Mist, I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd go this postal on me. How could you even think that I'd leave you? I though we talked about this last night. There's nothing left to say. It's over, it's done with, it's all in the past. I know that you regret it and that's enough for me. So don't ever even suggest that I leave you, because I can assure that it won't happen." he replied, as gently as he could, trying to calm Misty down and ease her fears at the same time.

Suddenly, Ash had an idea. He took Misty's hand and looked over at his mother.

"Mom, I'm sorry about worrying you all and everything, but would you mind leaving us alone for one second? Please?" he asked as nicely as he could, trying not to give away too much with his eyes.

His mother searched his eyes momentarily, a suspicious glint in her eyes. She then smiled and nodded, backing up to go into the kitchen.

"Of course, dear. I'll let you all know when dinner's ready."

"Thanks, mom."

Ms. Ketchum merely nodded, a knowing smile gracing her features.

When his mother was out of sight, Ash returned his attention to Misty, whose hand he was still holding.

"Come here and sit down, Mist. I wanted to talk to you about something." he said, leading her into the sitting room.

Misty looked at him suspiciously, but said nothing and allowed him to lead her to a seat. He placed her in a chair, he himself sitting on the coffee table before her; he continued to hold her hand.

"Misty, I wanted you to know why I took your car out today...where I was, the whole shebang." he started, smiling a little and looking deep into her blue eyes.

Misty raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, go right ahead." she said simply.

Ash nodded and looked down at the hand he was holding...

Her left hand... he thought The very same hand that the ring goes on....

He continued to examine it and, without looking at her, began speaking.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now, well more like a day or two, but I think that in some way it's always been in the back of my mind, like my brain's always had an ulterior motive or something. But this morning I knew for sure that I had to do it." he stated, returning his gaze to her face, "Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Misty stared at him blinkingly for a moment.

"Um, are you saying that you've been considering stealing my car for the past couple days?"

Ash broke into laughter and grabbed Misty's other hand.

"Oh, guess not." she replied, joining in on his laughing fest.

After a moment of silence Ash suddenly became serious. Misty cocked a brow once more and open her mouth to speak; Ash silenced her with a shaking of his head.

Then he moved to kneel before her and released her right hand to fiddle with something in his pocket. Misty continued to look at him in a confused manner until she saw what he pulled from his pocket. Her eyes went suddenly wide as realization dawned upon her and she pulled her gaze away from the box in his hand and back to his face.

"Ash you --"

"Misty," he interrupted, his nervousness becoming more apparent with every inch of silence, "Misty," he stated once more, as he used his thumb to open the lid of the box. "Will you marry me?" he asked quickly, holding the ring before her and staring at her face.

Her eyes were wide with shock as she continued to stare at the ring in silence.

Then, unexpectedly, her face broke out into a huge smile and she positioned her eyes on the man before her, joy evident in her now tear filled eyes.

"Ash, of course I'll marry you." she said, throwing her arms around his neck and sobbing onto his shoulder.

Ash's smiled broadened once more as he returned her hug.

A few minutes later, Ash gently pushed Misty from his shoulder and took the ring from it's box to place it on her finger.

She laughed tearfully and bit her bottom lip at she examined it.

"So now you know where I've been all day. Is it worth having a car with potentially no gas?"

She looked up at him and laughed again, leaning in to kiss him. When she pulled away she looked him straight in the eye.

"Of course it is, Ash."

And that was a moment Ash would most definitely never forget...

Ash and Misty were married that coming spring on the Cerulean beach in a very simple and small ceremony. Very few were there, just close friends, relatives and, of course, their Pokémon. After there wedding, they went on there honeymoon: a cruise in the Pacific ocean, that is, after much begging on Misty's behalf.

Both Ash and Misty are still recovering some of their memories, most of which have been restored. But now they can begin to make more and more memories with each other.

THE END

YEA!!!!!! It finished (sorry if that was a lame ending. I was so going to explain the wedding more in-depth in another chapter, but I figured that I had made you all wait long enough for a conclusion, so I made it a simpler ending).

I hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Again I apologize for the long wait but I hope that it was worth it and that I haven't lost too many readers in the process. For those who have been reading this from the beginning, thanks so much for sticking with it, I really appreciate it! For those who picked it up somewhere in the middle and have been reading ever since, I thank you as well, for you probably had to wait just about as long as the others. And finally for those who read it all in one go, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope that it was worth your time.

Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who has read and will read this story, you are the reason that I write!

Thanks again all!

Angel: da Newsies fan

Storyline © Angel: da Newsies fan

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